


Pour some sugar on me

by blasphemia



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Blow Jobs, Don't Judge Me, Humor, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Masturbation, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Minor Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Minor Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Minor Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Minor Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Minor Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phone Sex, Romantic Comedy, Sugar Daddy, When I learn more about the tagging system lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-06-07 21:19:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 92,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6824746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blasphemia/pseuds/blasphemia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite common belief, making sure you don’t have to work a single day in your life is hard work. Luckily, Oikawa has mastered the skill.<br/>But when his new target is the awfully... practical businessman Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa's skills are put to the test, since Iwaizumi refuses to spend money on him.<br/>Yet, the two can't ignore their mutual attraction, but with such different expectations for the relationship, there's bound to be trouble.</p><p>(Aka. Sugar daddy AU where Oikawa is a sugar baby and Iwaizumi is <em>not</em> a sugar daddy)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finding sugar amongst salt, sand and other shit

**Author's Note:**

> This may start at a coffee shop, but it is not a coffee shop au. Oh, how I wish it was, though (that would be less embarassing)
> 
> Also, don't worry about smut yet, I'll write a warning in the beginning when it comes!

Despite common belief, making sure you don’t have to work a single day in your life is hard work. Luckily, Oikawa has mastered the skill.

  
It came to him naturally – he was charismatic, beautiful and flirty, and he had an easy time wrapping everyone around his little finger. At first it was just people paying for his drink at bars, or for the dinner when eating out, but one day, while flirting with a man in an expensive suit in the middle of the men’s department, the man discreetly asked if he could pay for what Oikawa was buying, and Oikawa had an epiphany: He didn’t have to pay for anything himself if he had someone else to do it for him.  
  
And so, Oikawa Tooru decided to go into the sugar dating business – he quickly realised that it was an acquired skill, that talent wasn’t enough, but he was ambitious and a quick learner. And a few years plus a paid education later, Oikawa was one of the best.  
  
The art of finding a partner and making them give you stuff, only expecting your company in return, also known as sugar dating, was more of a lifestyle than he had expected. To understand and find these people, you needed to know their lives. They didn’t shop the same places, hell, they didn’t even drink coffee the same places as normal people. And that was why Oikawa bought his coffee in this tiny, fashionable coffee place in the financial district; because this was a place to pick up potential sponsors.

  
“Double venti nonfat caramel frappuccino with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top,” Oikawa said, when it was finally his turn to order. The barista nodded, blushing slightly at his winning smile, and Oikawa was used to it – she had written her number on his coffee two times already, but she had probably realised that he wasn’t interested. What did baristas even earn? Not enough to satisfy his needs, he was sure. He could hear a snicker behind him, obviously directed at his long order that the barista was still writing on his cup. As Oikawa stepped to the side to wait for his coffee, the snickering person stepped closer so he could order.

  
Now, rule number one when joining the sugar bowl: potential marks are everywhere around you. It’s simply a matter of finding sugar amongst salt, sand and other useless shit.

  
“Medium americano,” he simply said, putting a 5000-yen bill on the desk and turning to look Oikawa up and down. Oikawa was used to business men thinking that coffee that actually tasted good was too feminine or whatever, but when he turned to the man, the first thing Oikawa noticed was the fact that he was handsome, not in an obvious way, but still good looking – tan skin, short black hair in a haircut that needed minimal maintenance, but somehow still stuck out messily in all directions, yet it looked cute. The man wasn’t as tall as him (which Oikawa used to his advantage, so at least he was looking down at the handsome man taking his coffee all black, probably because he was sad and boring and didn’t have sex regularly), but even with a suit jacket on, Oikawa could see that he was in good shape. The second thing Oikawa noticed was his watch – a discreet Patek Philippe Calatrava in white gold with a black croc leather strap. _Bingo._ Oikawa’s interest spiked, and he sent the man his most charming smile, the one that he doesn’t even bother wasting on people like the barista. The man looked back at him, slightly confused at the sudden change of mood. He turned to the barista and accepted the change, quickly putting it in his wallet, a black woven leather wallet, which Oikawa assumed was Bottega Veneta, but that didn’t tell Oikawa much – everyone could go out and buy a designer wallet, it wasn’t _that_ expensive – but the amount of bills in it was reacting a bit more directly to Oikawa’s sponsor-radar. Target acquired.

  
“Someone’s into the simpler things, I see?” Oikawa said, referring to the man’s coffee order. He looked up slightly surprised that Oikawa was initiating conversation.

  
“Well, I like actually being able to taste the coffee instead of drowning it out with sugar,” he said, his accompanying smile not exactly friendly. Oikawa took it anyway.

  
Oikawa knew that men liked to seem smart, and he knew how to play on it.

  
“So, you’re a coffee expert? I don’t know much about it, to be honest,” Oikawa said, leaning slightly forward, giving the man a chance to show his superior knowledge on coffee (not that Oikawa cared at all), smiling innocently at the stranger with the expensive watch. His suit was last season, but the fit was amazing, and he was either super lucky with his size, or he had a tailor do the work for him. Oikawa hoped for the latter – not that he didn’t appreciate a great body, but he appreciated a heavy wallet more.

  
”I don’t know much more than anyone else, no,” the mark said, amused. ”But I think your caramel something-something is ready,” Oikawa realised that the girl had called out his order, and she stood with the coffee still in her hand, too shy to call it out the second time. He quickly retrieved his cup and took a sip.

  
_”Frappuccino,_ and you should try it one day. It’s good,” Oikawa said, still smiling at the man. He seemed more amused than affected by Oikawa’s charm.

  
“You ordered decaf, I need the caffeine to deal with my work,” the man said jokingly, his eyes sparkling with amusement and curiosity. The fact that he remembered that detail from his order was a good sign, and Oikawa had to take a sip from his drink to hide the smile, as the man walked right into his trap.

  
“What kind of work?” Oikawa asked as innocently as possible, only letting a hint of curiosity slip through, excited to know if the man was worth his time or not.

  
“Marketing,” he just answered, not elaborating further. That didn’t make Oikawa less hopeful, though; the big shots never bragged about their titles, even intermediate sugar babies and -puppies knew that.

 

“That sounds interesting,” Oikawa said, lifting an eyebrow in invitation, since the man hadn’t asked him.

  
“Not really,” he said, not taking the bait, and once again Oikawa had to take a sip to hide his reaction, this time an impatient sigh. Not that he was going to give up – so what if the man wasn’t that talkative? Oikawa had no problem filling out the silence.

  
“I’m Oikawa Tooru,” he said, reaching out his hand as an invitation for the other man to shake it. Physical contact was important, especially with men, since they needed to know that he was, in fact, interested and not just a really, really friendly straight man with good taste in clothes.

  
“Iwaizumi,” the man answered, shaking his hand shortly, but turning his attention to his coffee when it was finished. There was no ‘pleasure to meet you’ or ‘here’s my business card’ or anything like that, and it didn’t escape Oikawa’s attention that he only gave him his surname.

  
Now, a newcomer in the sugar bowl would probably ask for his first name as well – this was not needed, though. Calling someone by first name from the start could make them uncomfortable, especially when they’re not even interested in giving it out. Instead, giving them a nickname ensures familiarity and makes the mark feel special.

  
“Nice to meet you, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, and the aforementioned turned to Oikawa in shock.

  
“What did you call me?” he said, sounding surprised, but not dissatisfied.

  
“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said again, still giving him his most disarming smile. “Fits you better,” he explained, and the mark – Iwa-chan – just stared at him, an eyebrow slightly raised.

  
“Oh,” he said, and Oikawa opened his mouth, ready to ask for his number (or business card, or email, or another way to communicate later on) but before being able to ask, Iwa-chan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He grabbed it quickly from his pocket, pressing the touch screen and bringing it to his ear – the newest iPhone, Oikawa noted. “Iwaizumi,” he just said, and Oikawa wondered if his short answers weren’t because he was dubious about flirting with a stranger, but simply because he was a man of few words. “Oh, I’ll be there in two,” he said, ending the call and putting his phone in his pocket, turning to Oikawa.

  
“Work is calling,” he said, turning to the barista to send her a thankful smile, then to Oikawa. For a moment it seemed like he didn’t really know how to react to him, and Oikawa put his hand in his pocket to reach for his own business card (with his private number on it, though). “Oikawa… bye,” he said, hanging on Oikawa’s name as if unsure of whether or not he should use honorifics when Oikawa had already given him a nickname. Then he turned around and left the coffee shop before Oikawa could even reach out and hand him his card.

  
“Oh,” Oikawa mumbled to himself. Target out of reach, he thought, and chuckled to him self bitterly, turning to the barista who was currently attending to another businessman in a suit.

  
So, Iwaizumi didn’t exactly flirt back, but Oikawa wouldn’t say that he seemed uninterested either. When the businessman had gotten his order, Oikawa waltzed over and put both his hands on the desk.

  
“So…” he said, looking for a name tag, but the only thing adorning her uniform was the company logo on her chest. “I don’t think I ever got your name?” He asked, smiling at her.

  
“I-I’m Kimura Yuna,” she said, seemingly happy that he finally gave her his attention.

  
“Yuna-chan, can I call you that? I’m practically a regular here,” he said, waving his arm. She nodded, her cheeks turning into a soft pink, and he continued. “I have to ask, though, uh,” he began, taking a sip of his drink, theatrically acting like he was thinking about what to say. “Is, uh, grumpy-san,” he said, quickly realising that she may have been less focused on Iwaizumi than him. “The guy who just left, that is,” he quickly explained. “Does he come here often?”

  
“Huh?” she asked, quickly covering her mouth with her hand as the sound left her.

  
“Uhm, I mean… I think I recognise him from somewhere. I’m a bit curious,” he easily lied, sending her an innocent smile. The girl nodded, accepted his reasoning, and her eyes slid toward the door he just left through.

  
“Yeah, I think he works nearby, he comes by quite often,” she said, smiling at him. Oikawa nodded enthusiastically, even though the information wasn’t that surprising – this was the financial district, he had assumed that the man worked nearby, unless he came to check the market like Oikawa did. Oikawa chuckled at the thought.

  
“Thank you, Yuna-chan! I’ll see you again soon, then!” he said, turning on his heel and leaving the store himself.


	2. Leave 'em hanging, wanting more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was like he was pulling him closer and pushing him away at the same time, because he never straight out showed disinterest or dislike, but he didn’t let Oikawa get too comfortable either. It was sort of exhilarating, and Oikawa wondered if this was how his flatmate felt that time when he stayed in his room for a whole day without coming out just to finish some new game. It certainly felt like a game with Iwaizumi.
> 
> (In short: they meet again, Oikawa gets what he wants. Sort of. Not really)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 5am while eating pancakes i’m sorry

It would be a lie to say that Oikawa didn’t go to the coffee shop more often after that. Not that he started coming every day or anything like that, he wasn’t that desperate. He did stay at the coffee shop for a little longer than he used to, though, hoping to run into Iwaizumi, but after a week he was almost giving up. That is, until the day he wasn’t paying attention and almost missed seeing him. He had already paid and was waiting for his order, and Oikawa had been too occupied with decorating the garden in this new cat game his roommate had told him to try. When he recognised Iwaizumi, though, he quickly put the phone in his pocket and walked over, drink in his hand.

“Iwa-chan?” he asked, and Iwaizumi looked up, confused expression for a second, which then turned into a slight smile.

“Frappuccino-guy,” he said, and Oikawa smiled, a bit disappointed that he didn’t use the name, but happy that he still remembered their meeting – maybe the nickname was his way of being friendly.

“Oikawa, yes,” Oikawa said, and the barista – another one than the last time – called Iwaizumi’s order. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow. “Just black coffee again?” he asked, and got a laugh in return.

“I don’t think I’m one to experiment,” Iwaizumi said, smiling at Oikawa.

“Well, you can always taste mine,” Oikawa said, quickly offering his own drink with a sneaky smile. Now, Iwaizumi could decline, which would look childish, and if he did so, Oikawa had probably overestimated his attraction. If not, sharing something as intimate as a drink – even if it was just a sip for a straw – would be _amazing_ on their second meeting, especially since sharing a straw was an indirect kiss and would lead Iwaizumi’s thoughts towards such things. When Iwaizumi reached out and took a tiny zip, Oikawa counted in his victory and hoped that his huge smile seemed expectant rather than victorious to Iwaizumi.

“Not my thing,” Iwaizumi said quickly, shaking his head with a slightly scrunched nose, and Oikawa couldn’t help but laugh. He looked a bit like a picky kid. Of course, he had already assumed that Iwaizumi wouldn’t like the Frappuccino if he was into black coffee, but that wasn’t the point – the point was doing something intimate, making him feel close from the go.

Oikawa brought the straw up to his lips, and when he realised that Iwaizumi’s eyes were focused on his mouth, he faltered for a second, but quickly reacted, wrapping his lips around the straw and licking a sweet drop that had found it’s way down the straw; Iwaizumi’s eyes were still fixed on his lips and he wasn’t trying to hide it.

“Busy with work or do you have time to stay and enjoy your coffee?” Oikawa asked, and while the question was quite crucial – did he want to spend time with Oikawa or not? – he did not let that show, sending Iwaizumi a relaxed, curious smile.

The first thing, Iwaizumi did was look at his watch, which was slightly disappointing, but his next words made up for that. “I have some time,” Iwaizumi said, smiling slightly. Oikawa quickly led him over to the table he sat at before, only touching his shoulder slightly, keeping physical contact but not getting too close too quickly. He also noticed that Iwaizumi’s arms were definitely toned, even if it wasn’t that obvious through the blazer.

Sitting across from Iwaizumi, Oikawa made sure to keep his eyes locked into Iwaizumi’s, and was almost surprised by the fact that he unrelentingly met Oikawa’s piercing gaze that normally made people crumble or look away in a matter of seconds. Eye contact was an extremely important thing when showing interest. People normally tended to let their eyes wander when they were talking and thinking of things, but Oikawa knew that keeping eye contact was important and could make a man feel things that nothing else could do to him. But Iwaizumi seemed to be just as good as that, probably practiced from business interviews with other dominant people who tried to prove their worth by dumb macho staring contests. Iwaizumi looked down to take a sip of his coffee, but when he looked up and they locked eyes again, Oikawa was the one who had to look away, and he wondered if his cheeks were actually heating up or he was just imagining it. He took a sip of his drink, forcing out another smile and tilting his head to the side.

“So, how’s work?” Oikawa asked, still smiling broadly.

“It’s okay, I guess,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa wanted to sigh at his inability to keep up the conversation, but he kept his smile on – Iwaizumi, however, changed his demeanour to match how Oikawa was feeling and sighed frustratedly. “Can’t you quit it with those fake smiles?” he said, not at all trying to hide his annoyance.

Shocked, Oikawa moped, but quickly recovered and cocked his head to the side, sending Iwaizumi a puzzled look. “What on earth are you talking about?” he asked. No one had ever called his smiles fake, and while he somehow agreed himself that they weren’t completely sincere, he had never been called out on it. He knew his smiles looked just fine, some may even call them dashing, and it annoyed him that Iwaizumi looked through him that easily. It also excited him a bit.

Iwaizumi waved his hand in the air, gesturing at Oikawa’s face, trying to find the right words, and then answered. “It’s so easy to see that you’re dissatisfied with my answers, yet you still do this whole cheerful act, it’s pissing me off,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa’s smile faltered. At least he wasn’t holding back his words any longer. Eye contact also made you seem more trustworthy, Oikawa distantly remembered, but once again keeping his eyes locked with Iwaizumi’s sharp glare was somewhat of a challenge. Which made it all the more interesting for Oikawa, of course. His eyes were dark, his eyebrows furrowed, and Oikawa realised that he was in fact waiting for him to answer.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he just said chirpily, reaching out for his coffee and bringing the straw to his mouth without looking away, trying to figure out if Iwaizumi’s eyes were brown or green. Maybe if he was wearing his glasses it’d be easier to see, or at least if he was sitting a bit closer. They were definitely pretty, and with his dark hair came the matching dark eyelashes and, unlike Oikawa, Iwaizumi seemed to be the type that had absolutely no bags under the eyes or a single shadow under his eyes, his skin tan, but vibrant, healthy, and glowing. Oikawa wondered if he used products and, if yes, which ones, but he didn’t seem like the type.

“Sure you don’t,” Iwaizumi answered, rolling his eyes.

Now, another technique when making your mark want you was voice inflection. Like any talented sugar baby and puppy knew, your voice was probably the strongest weapon for attracting someone – people who mastered this skill could get a man off more quickly than by actually stroking his dick. Now, Oikawa normally spoke lightly, keeping his voice breezy and playful, but lowering his voice and hanging on certain words would insinuate that he was talking dirty or that his word had sexual undertones. Holding on to words like ‘hard’ or even simpler words like ‘tonight’, if used correctly, could easily make a man think of bedroom business. Also, being able to use your voice to seduce was a must when having phone sex.

“So, you work in marketing?” Oikawa said, smiling once again.

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi just answered, back to the simple answers. Then he sat up, as if realising something. “I never found out what you do,” he said, and Oikawa smiled back, lifting an eyebrow.

“Well, that’s because you never asked me,” he said teasingly, to which Iwaizumi just shrugged with a slight smile, as if he was aware that they were in fact playing a game. Of course, flirting in general seemed like a game, and Oikawa enjoyed this part, making the mark think that it was just that, and that he was leading it, when it was in fact Oikawa pulling all of the strings, doing everything to make the man fall right into his trap. Now, when talking about jobs, Oikawa knew that as a sugar puppy, you couldn’t just say that you didn’t have one, that’d be a bit too much, but you couldn’t have a job that brought in enough on itself to not need support. “I’m a sales assistant at a department store,” Oikawa said.

“Let me guess, you work in the clothes department?” Iwaizumi said, smiling. Oikawa lifted his hand to his mouth, gasping theatrically, but not that surprised that Iwaizumi guessed correctly.

“Yes! Is it that obvious?” he asked, smiling. “I mean, I know I’m fashionable, but I’m honoured, really,” he teased, taking a sip of his drink. Not that he was wearing anything special that day – a striped Ralph Lauren-sweater with boat neck and a pair of jeans that he knew fit him nicely.

“Wow, at least your ego isn’t lacking,” Iwaizumi said, smiling.

“I know who I am and my worth, that’s called confidence,” Oikawa said, lifting an eyebrow. As a sugar baby or puppy, Oikawa had found that confidence was one of the most important things – some people with extremely wonderful potential had ended up giving up because they were too insecure, and honestly, you _needed_  to think that you were the shit if you wanted this life. You needed to think that your company was worth paying for if you wanted anyone to pay for it. If you didn’t think it, why should they?

“Sure,” Iwaizumi just said rolling his eyes at Oikawa. His tendency to not at all try and hide his rudeness was another thing that piqued Oikawa’s interest. It wasn’t like he had never met a person who was rude to him or didn’t like him – even though most people definitely fell quickly for his charm – but with Iwaizumi it was different. It was like he was pulling him closer and pushing him away at the same time, because he never straight out showed disinterest or dislike, but he didn’t let Oikawa get too comfortable either. It was sort of exhilarating, and Oikawa wondered if this was how his flatmate felt that time when he stayed in his room for a whole day without coming out just to finish some new game. It certainly felt like a game with Iwaizumi.

Of course, there was no need to get carried away. While Oikawa was aware that his mark was attractive, he knew that he wasn’t there to find a nice boyfriend. He was trying to find a man to pay for his leisurely lifestyle. And something about Iwaizumi oozed big money, despite his attempts at discretion. Oikawa could stay the whole day and try and get it out of him, but flirting was one of those games that should be stopped while still fun – you had to leave them hanging. One of the biggest rookie mistakes was hanging around too long, making the mark lose interest. Flirting should be like a striptease, more of a buildup to the actual act. Everyone knows that a man wants what he can’t have, and Oikawa knew how to use this to his own advantage. He looked down at his phone, sitting up more straight.

“Oh, Iwa-chan, it’s so late. Time just flies by around you,” he said, smiling brightly at the man across from him, who just lifted a questioning eyebrow.

“You have to be somewhere?” Iwaizumi asked, and Oikawa nodded.

“Yes. But I’d love to have your number or a way to contact you, so we can finish this conversation,” Oikawa said, smiling, as he dug into his pocket for his card – it wasn’t really a business card, since it only had his name and private number, but that was also sort of the point. Iwaizumi sat up and reached into his pocket, but then his expression changed to confusion.

“Oh, uh, I think I forgot my business cards,” he said, hand still roaming around his pocket. Oikawa’s smile faltered only slightly, wondering if he had misread his behaviour and he wasn’t interested at all. Then Iwaizumi took out a pen from his pocket and reached over for a napkin with the coffee shop’s logo. “This will do, right?” he said, looking up with a soft smile, and Oikawa, at a loss of words, just nodded. He exhaled in relief, not knowing that he had been holding in his breath and put on his smile again, as he took the napkin reached out for him.

“So nice, Iwa-chan,” he said playfully, smiling broadly. And Iwaizumi smiled back, almost as broadly, and Oikawa stopped in his track, shocked by the beaming smile. This was Iwaizumi’s first real, pleased smile at him, and he suddenly realised that he’d been staring when Iwaizumi’s smile faltered and he sent him a quizzical look.

“Weren’t you going somewhere?” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa, once again, just nodded.

“Yes! I, uh, I just… Iwa-chan just smiled at me! It suits you better than all of that frowning, you don’t look as grumpy!” he said chirpily, smiling widely, as he watched Iwaizumi’s soft smile turn into an even deeper frown.

“Hey, now…” Iwaizumi said in an annoyed tone, but Oikawa took his drink and practically ran out of the store before he could continue.

“Talk to you later, Iwa-chan!” he said, keeping his pace quick until he was two blocks from the coffee shop and his heartbeat had returned to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not much happens in this chapter and I was really not satisfied with it, but I figured it'd be better to just get over it so I could get to the fun things to write. Next chapter will have new characters added, and stuff will happen.


	3. Make it worth his while

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ”I know you’re still young and attractive, Iwa-chan, but I can make it worth your while,” Oikawa said, hoping that Iwaizumi would mistake the higher tone as him being enthusiastic and not as desperate as he felt like he sounded.

“Tell me again why I’m helping you with this,” Kenma didn’t look up from his computer when he said it, and Oikawa sighed, putting his head on Kenma’s shoulder, which made Kenma shift his body a bit to a more comfortable position in the sofa.

“Because you love me and you want me to succeed?” Oikawa said, smiling hopefully up at him. Kenma rolled his eyes, still not moving his eyes from the screen. Oikawa knew not to expect an answer – his flatmate had never been the talkative type, and while Oikawa didn’t expect them to work out at first, they quickly found a comfortable rhythm that fit both of them. Kenma was tapping rapidly on his computer, which Oikawa had found impressive at first, then annoying (since Kenma, like Oikawa, preferred to stay up at night), but as he got used to the tapping noises, it had turned into a comfortable white noise in the background for Oikawa. “So, how much is he worth?” Oikawa asked, squinting his eyes at the scene and repositioning his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

Kenma leaned away to shoot Oikawa an irritated look. “You know it doesn’t work like that, I can’t just hack myself into his bank account and check his assets,” Kenma simply answered, leaning back and turning his attention to the screen again. Oikawa sighed impatiently. He both loved and hated this part – researching the mark. After moving in with Kenma, it had become _significantly_ easier for him, since the guy really knew a thing or two about the internet, but it still wasn’t as easy as it seemed in the movies. Apparently, Kenma was the type who drew a line when things bordered to illegality. So boring.

“He works for Karasuno Inc. under Kiyoko Shimizu… Haven’t I heard that name before?” Kenma asked, turning to Oikawa with a slight lift in the corners of his mouth, a smile only reserved for when he had information on someone. Sneaky bastard. Oikawa shifted uncomfortably. “She’s that lady who totally ignored your advances, right?” Kenma asked, lifting an eyebrow. Anyone but the people who knew Kenma very well wouldn’t even have noticed that he was, in fact, very much teasing Oikawa.

“First of all, I think she’s lesbian,” Oikawa said defensively, then remembering the point of their conversation. “And that’s not the point!” Oikawa chirped, waving his arms frustratedly towards the computer, trying to bring the focus back to the real mark.

“What if he’s as impregnable as his boss? He doesn’t _seem_ interested, Tooru,” Kenma said, this time not as taunting. He actually sounded almost concerned, which made it all the worse for Oikawa.

“You think I can’t see if a person is interested in me?” Oikawa asked. Kenma just shrugged, not saying anything, and Oikawa _knew_ it was because he didn’t want to discuss it. Meaning that Kenma still disagreed. Huffing stubbornly, Oikawa shifted around while trying to pry his phone out of his skinny jeans, and Kenma moved away irritated. “Look, I’m gonna message him right now,” Oikawa said, locking up his phone and starting to write a text. He had already saved Iwaizumi’s number in his phone under the name ‘Iwa-chan <3’, but he couldn’t make himself throw out the napkin it was written on, explaining why it was still lying on the kitchen counter despite not having any use now that he already had the number.

“What are you doing?” Kenma asked, his monotone voice concealing his curiosity, but, after a lot of time living together, Oikawa had learned reading him. Kenma wasn’t much harder than others to read, he was just… different. He reacted differently to things, more discreetly, but when his patterns were known, it was simple enough to decipher his actions.

“I’m texting him, obviously,” Oikawa said, smiling. Kenma turned his attention back to the laptop.

“You usually wait a bit longer before messaging them,” he said. Oikawa stuck out his tongue childishly and Kenma stared at him until he turned his attention back to writing the text.

 

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [13:16]**

_Hey Iwa-chan! Guess who it is~_

 

Oikawa sent the message and locked the phone, placing it on the sofa table, then turning to Kenma with an excited smile.

“You’re practically shaking,” Kenma said, obviously amused.

“I’m just excited,” Oikawa said.

“Sure,” Kenma just answered, turning his body away slightly and devoting his full attention to the computer on his lap, ending the conversation. When Oikawa’s phone buzzed on the table, he jumped slightly in surprise, and ignored Kenma’s eyes on him as he quickly grabbed it to read the message.

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [13:17]**

_Oikawa._

 

Oikawa looked down at the one word message with furrowed brows.

“Did he ask you to bug off?” Kenma said, amused. Oikawa didn’t look up but waved his hand in his direction.

“No, he just-, he’s so bad at holding up a conversation,” Oikawa said, sighing disappointedly.

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to,” Kenma said. Oikawa snorted.

“Be nice!” he said, unlocking his phone to answer Iwaizumi.

 

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [13:18]**

_The one and only! What are you doing right now, apart from drinking disgusting coffee?_

 

This time Oikawa didn’t put down the phone. The grey bubble with three dots popped up, signalling that Iwaizumi was already typing out an answer. Oikawa bit his lip, waiting for the response.

 

**From: Iwa-can <3 [13:18]**

_I’m going ignore your comment about my coffee habit. I’m at work, probably getting lunch soon, though._

 

Okay, so, a longer response, but he still wasn’t actively coming with inputs or asking Oikawa questions himself. Yet, Oikawa still felt like Iwaizumi was making it easy for him when he said things like that. He quickly typed in an answer and pressed send.

 

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [13:19]**

_Are you inviting me out for lunch, Iwa-chan?_

 

This time, Iwaizumi was quick to answer, and Oikawa couldn’t help but smile at his phone.

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [13:19]**

_Huh? No. I mean, you’re welcome to join if you want, but I wasn’t asking._

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [13:20]**

_But you did ask just now. ^ω_ _^_

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [13:21]**

_Did you seriously just use an emoticon? How old are you?_

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [13:22]**

_I’m young at heart. Don’t try to talk your way out of it, we’re having lunch together!~_

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [13:23]**

_Okay, I just have to wrap up a few things here, where do you want to meet up?_

 

Oikawa smiled. Once again, Iwaizumi’s answers gave him the perfect opportunities – this time to check out the location of his work. Kenma had already filled him in a bit on the company; specialising in marketing, like Iwaizumi had said himself, Karasuno Inc. was a successful but not enormous company, still growing and taking on bigger and bigger projects. But Oikawa was still interested in seeing how the office looked, and this was the perfect setup.

 

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [13:24]**

_Where do you work? I’ll pick you up and we can find a place in the area to eat together. <3_

 

Thirty minutes later, Oikawa was on his way up the stairs of the metro station, which, as he suspected, was also the closest one to the coffee shop. Oikawa knew the area, and it would be a bit hard to find a place to eat lunch where other businessmen weren’t already eating. Not that Oikawa minded those places, but they didn’t exactly set the mood for a date.

Only a few blocks away, Oikawa finally found the office building, and just as he was about to take out his phone and message Iwaizumi, it vibrated in his pocket.

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [13:57]**

_I’m on my way down, I’ll wait for you outside._

 

Oikawa was about to write that he had already arrived – Oikawa was never late – but he figured that he could just tell him when he came out from the building. Half a minute later, and there he was – but he wasn’t alone. Flanked by two other men on each side, Iwaizumi was laughing but had his phone out, as if ready to call Oikawa – until he looked up and their eyes met. Oikawa smiled, waved, and then walked over with confident steps as he turned his attention to Iwaizumi’s colleagues.

One of them was tall – almost half a head taller than Iwaizumi and definitely bit taller than Oikawa as well. His jet black and messy hair sticking up in the air, but also down in his face on one side, probably also added to the height. Apart from the extreme bedhead, the man was attractive; sharp features, narrow golden eyes that were already weighing Oikawa, judging to see if he was good enough for his friend. The other friend, though, was slightly smaller than Iwaizumi, had dark hair almost the same length as Iwaizumi’s, maybe a bit shorter and more brownish, but less messy (and not at all as messy as the taller man’s hair). His features were simple, but handsome and he looked curiously at Oikawa with a friendly smile as the three men finally reached Oikawa.

“So, you’re the famous Frappuccino-guy,” the messy haired man said before Oikawa had a chance to present himself, and Iwaizumi smacked his friend on the shoulder.

“Oi, shut up Kuroo!” he said, turning to Oikawa with a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

“Oh, you’ve been talking about me?” Oikawa said sprightly, smiling broadly.

“No I haven’t,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes. The third man took a step forward, reaching out his hand to greet Oikawa properly.

“But he did tell us that you two were, uh, having lunch together,” he said, an amused smile on his lips, but still a bit reluctant to call their lunch date a, well, date. “I’m Sawamura Daichi,” he presented himself. The tall man with the bedhead stepped forward.

“Kuroo Tetsurou,” he said, his smile more of a lazy smirk than an actual smile. Oikawa sent him back his most charming smile.

“Oikawa Tooru,” he said to both of them, then turning his attention to Iwaizumi.

“So, we’ll be going this way,” Sawamura said, stepping behind Iwaizumi and placing his hand on the bedhead’s – Kuroo’s – shoulder, pushing him slightly away from Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Oikawa was grateful to the man for letting them be alone so quickly, and he sent him a beaming smile when waving the men goodbye. Iwaizumi looked at his co-workers – or friends – go, and then he turned to Oikawa.

“So,” he simply said, scratching his neck awkwardly.

“So,” Oikawa repeated, refusing to let the awkwardness change the atmosphere. “Wanna go get some lunch, Iwa-chan?” he said. Iwaizumi nodded, then smiled and rolled his eyes at the nickname.

“Sure,” he simply said, and Oikawa once again remembered Iwaizumi’s tendency to, well, not be very helpful in keeping conversation.

 

After discussing where to eat (Iwaizumi wanted to go to a ramen place in the area, but Oikawa wanted western cuisine), they finally settled at a café in the opposite direction of the coffee shop, closer to the expensive part of the city, which may or may not have been very thought out on Oikawa’s part.

Now, like he did when texting, Oikawa wanted to make Iwaizumi think that _he_ was the one initiating this. The art of seducing your mark was made way easier when they were in the belief that they were the aggressor. He had to seem interested, but not _too_ interested, be available, but not really. Make it all about the thrill of the chase. But no matter how many times Oikawa hinted at it under their meal, Iwaizumi did not seem to move an inch towards asking him out again, and they were almost finishing up. Oikawa was growing more and more desperate, his hints becoming painfully obvious, yet the one person supposed to pick up on them seemed hopelessly oblivious. Or so Oikawa thought, until Iwaizumi put down his chopsticks and turned to look up at Oikawa with a serious look that didn’t match the jokes they had just cracked.

“Oikawa,” he simply said, making it obvious that he meant business. Oikawa dapped his lips with his napkin and smiled calmly at Iwaizumi, his expression contrasting how nervous he was feeling inside.

“Yes?” He answered, his voice a bit too shrill to his own liking.

“I have to be honest,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa nodded, keeping up the smile. Iwaizumi looked over Oikawa’s shoulder into the air, trying to find the right words. “I’m not really, uh, looking for a relationship right now,” Iwaizumi then said, seeming relieved to finally get it off his chest. Oikawa couldn’t help but exhale in relief, smiling broadly back at the other man, whose expression turned into confusion.

“Well, dating doesn’t _have_ to lead to relationships,” Oikawa said chirpily, taking a sip of his coke. Actually, Oikawa normally didn’t even expect relationships out of these kinds of dates, as he had been satisfied with the free dinners, gifts and cash for a ‘cab home’ (despite being handed enough to borrow a cab to drive around town for a full week). In fact, Oikawa hadn’t been in a relationship since… Ushiwaka. He scrunched his nose, taking another sip of his coke. Most sugar daddies were in fact ‘born’ from rich men with that kind of mentality – ‘I don’t have time or energy to invest myself in a real relationship, so I pay a gorgeous young person give me a wonderful time without having to actually invest anything else than money in the relationship’. Of course, Oikawa couldn’t _just_ propose that idea to Iwaizumi, but he could hope for a conversion.

“Then why should I go on dates?” Iwaizumi asked, and Oikawa looked up, realizing that he had been looking down at his drink. His thoughts quickly returned to the question, and he smiled at Iwaizumi.

“Well, to enjoy my wonderful company, of course?” Oikawa hummed, and Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

“No thank you,” Iwaizumi joked, rolling his eyes as he took a sip of his beer. Oikawa never drank on the first date – he preferred keeping his mind clear – and Iwaizumi hadn’t commented when he ordered a coke, then again they were only eating lunch, so it wasn’t that weird either.

”I know you’re still young and attractive, Iwa-chan, but I can make it worth your while,” Oikawa said, hoping that Iwaizumi would mistake the higher tone as him being enthusiastic and not as desperate as he felt like he sounded.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, not even bothering to bestow him an answer, so Oikawa did what he would usually do in a situation like that. He moved over to the other side of the booth, sitting down next to him, closer than normal people would, and _demanded_ his attention.

”And that grumpy personality of yours must scare people away as well,” he said it in a playful tone, leaning in. “I’m doing you a favour!” he said jokingly, refusing to give up. Iwaizumi did not find it amusing.

“Are you going to stop if I say yes?” Iwaizumi grunted, not leaning away despite the proximity.

“Yes to what?” Oikawa said, leaning in further, as he rested his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand.

“To go on a date?” Iwaizumi said, lifting an eyebrow.

“Well, yes, I’d love to!” Oikawa said, this time letting his voice stay lower and sultry.

“Wow,” Iwaizumi just said, hiding his face in his hand, but not before Oikawa could see the smile he was trying to hide. “You’re too much,” Iwaizumi said, letting his hand fall down again when he had neutralized his expression, shaking his head.

“You like it, though,” Oikawa said briskly, not having to fake the broad smile reaching his lips.

The waiter came with the check, and Oikawa smiled, not bothering to return to his own seat.

“Do you want the check split?” The waiter said, looking between the two men. Oikawa took it, didn’t bother reading what it said, but turned to Iwaizumi with a smile.

“Yes, please,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa’s smile faltered.

“Huh?” Oikawa said, slightly confused. Iwaizumi turned to him with a puzzled look. “You usually pay when you invite someone on a date,” Oikawa then explained, playing his comment off as a joke – but he was serious. He never had to actually explain this to a man.

“Well, you don’t have to pay for me,” Iwaizumi said, smiling at him. Oikawa wanted to laugh at how obliviously naïve he was, thinking that Oikawa was actually offering to pay for him, but he knew better.

“That’s very nice of you, maybe I’ll return the favour the next time,” Oikawa said, sending Iwaizumi a forced smile back. He returned to his seat to reach for his wallet in his jacket – since, apparently, he had to pay for _himself_. Oikawa didn’t even remember the last time he did that at a restaurant, and he found himself mildly offended.

Iwaizumi did however let Oikawa pay less by letting him accept the change without asking for moeny back, which Oikawa counted as a small victory. A _very_ small one. Yet, he still feared that Iwaizumi was one of those awfully practical men who were only rich because they didn’t want to spend their money, not because they actually earned a lot.

 

Iwaizumi offered to walk Oikawa to the metro, or, more precisely, Oikawa offered to let Iwaizumi walk him, and he reluctantly agreed.

“So, about our rendezvous later,” Oikawa said, making sure that their shoulders brushed slightly while walking next to each other – it was still a bit early to take his hand or something like that, but physical contact was still important. “I know a great restaurant that just opened in Koreatown,” he said. Iwaizumi looked up.

“Oh, for the, uh, date?” he said. Oikawa nodded. “If I’m the one asking you out, aren’t I supposed to be the one choosing?” Iwaizumi argumented, but Oikawa just laughed.

“Well, I would let you choose, if I didn’t fear that you’d just take me to McDonalds or the same ramen shop you tried to make me go to today,” Oikawa said.

“Their dashi is really good!” Iwaizumi said defensively, and Oikawa just laughed.

“I’m choosing,” he said, stopping as they reached the station. Oikawa quickly hugged Iwaizumi, whispering in his ear while he was close enough to do it. “Next time, make it worth my while,” he leaned back after whispering, winking at him before he turned to the subway.

Even though he actually had to pay for his meal – he was still outraged – he had actually enjoyed his time with Iwaizumi, and, most importantly, he had gotten the second date. Now it was time to get out his powerful tricks on the second date, since this date was the true test to see if Iwaizumi was a spender or not. When Oikawa was a few stations away, he pulled out his phone, ready to write, but froze in his tracks when he realized what he was doing. He had to wait until later that night to text him, he couldn’t seem desperate. Oikawa Tooru was _not_ desperate.

He bit his lip, forcing himself to put his phone back into his pocket. Yet, when it vibrated a few moments later, he quickly grabbed for it, but slumped disappointedly when he saw that the sender of the message wasn’t Iwaizumi. Shit. Oikawa was not getting excited about the idea of getting a message from this guy. He stubbornly put the phone in his pocket again. Then he realised that he had just missed the station he was supposed to get off at. His phone buzzed in his pocket once again, and he took it out with a resigned sigh, unable to wait any longer.

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [15:23]**

_That was quite an exit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowowowow, guess who has to get up in 2 hours. I'm dead. Why do only ever write things after 2am?  
> I'm so sorry about this chapter. I actually even felt like i was starting out alright, but then it just went downhill. Please bear over with me.


	4. To the nines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I told you, he has to know that I’m a busy man, I can’t just change my schedule to see him whenever he wants to,” Oikawa said.
> 
> “Oh, please,” Makki said, laughing. “I bet you’re sitting at home with a tub of ice cream watching some gross horror marathon or the Alien-movies,” Oikawa made an offended face, but quickly remembered that Makki wouldn’t see that on the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, wow. First of all, sorry it took a bit longer to update than the other chapters, but I have work and uni and a general lack of fucks to give. I tried and I hope this doesn't disappoint you guys too much. Also, matsuhana is my shit, so of course there will be more of it.

When securing the second date, one should not let the mark choose the specific time or location. Now, Oikawa only worked at the department store, so he wasn’t exactly a busy person, but Iwaizumi did not need to know that. Making sure not to text him randomly through the day – as if he only was able to do so on specific times of the day – and making up excuses for not being able to go out on the Saturday that Iwaizumi proposed. Oikawa had spent that night watching nature documentaries alone in front of the tv, the only sign of Kenma’s company being his quick tapping on the keyboard from the other end of the sofa – at least he actually stayed in the same room. At first, Kenma actually preferred sitting in his own room, but Oikawa was an extrovert with a need to be social at most times, and through time, they’d come to the conclusion that the company of the other was comfortable, even if they were just in the same room doing different things and saying nothing. After some time, though, Oikawa had become bored of the show, and started complaining to Kenma about not being able to message Iwaizumi, since he was acting like he had plans that night. Kenma had just rolled his eyes, like he always did when Oikawa did those things, and then put his earphones in, obviously not wanting to hold a conversation.

Then, Oikawa had decided to plan out the date. He took out his phone and called his friend, and the phone rang two times before it was picked up on the other end.

“Matsuk-, oh, Oikawa. What do you want?” His friend asked, obviously realising who was calling before finishing his normal greeting.

“Mattsun, that’s no way to talk to your best friend!” Oikawa said in a shrill voice, trying to sound as exasperated as possible.

“You know I had plans tonight,” Mattsun simply said on the other end of the line, his voice deep and held monotone.

“You’re just cooking dinner for Makki, right? That’s not real plans,” Oikawa said, grabbing the remote to try and find something more interesting on the tv.

“You’re ruining our date night. So shut up and tell me what you want,” Mattsun said, and even though his voice didn’t reveal it, Oikawa knew he was joking.

“I just wanted to know if there are any cancelled reservations this week?” Oikawa asked as innocently as possible. He could hear Mattsun sigh on the other end and someone talk in the background – obviously his boyfriend.

“Sometimes I feel like you’re just using me to get reservations at the restaurant,” Mattsun said, sighing disappointedly, but he wasn’t nearly as good at faking it as Oikawa.

“No, honey! I’m also using you to taste your amazing food,” Oikawa said. Mattsun laughed and once again Oikawa heard Makki say something in the background, to which Mattsun laughed at again.

“I’ll check, two seconds,” Mattsun said, and Oikawa could here that he was doing something with the phone. A few moments later, the voice in the phone changed.

“Hey, is it still the dude who didn’t pay for your lunch last time?” Makki said with an amused voice, and Oikawa put his hand on his chest, offended.

“Please give back the phone to your man,” Oikawa said sprightly, refusing to answer the question. Which, sadly, answered the question for his friend who knew him well enough. Oikawa could hear Makki’s laughter.

“Why didn’t you just go out with him tonight?” he asked, and Oikawa sighed impatiently. Did he really have to explain his ways every time he did it?

“I told you, he has to know that I’m a busy man, I can’t just change my schedule to see him whenever he wants to,” Oikawa said.

“Oh, please,” Makki said, laughing. “I bet you’re sitting at home with a tub of ice cream watching some gross horror marathon or the Alien-movies,” Oikawa made an offended face, but quickly remembered that Makki wouldn’t see that on the phone.

“I-, I am not!” he said, looking guiltily at the Ben & Jerry’s on the table in front of him. Makki didn’t need to know that he was right, though. “Point is, he needs to _think_ that I’m busy,” Oikawa said again.

“Wait, Mattsun wants to say something, just-“ Makki said, but the phone was handed over before he was able to finish.

“Thursday at 8pm?” Mattsun simply said, and Oikawa sat up straight in the couch with a huge smile.

“Perfect. Thank you, my friend,” he answered happily.

“You owe me,” Mattsun just said on the other end of the line.

“Sure. Enjoy your date night!” Oikawa said, quickly ending the call before he took out his phone to message Iwaizumi. He stopped briefly, wondering if he should wait until tomorrow, so he didn’t blow his cover. Then again, if he wrote now, Iwaizumi would think about the fact that they could have been together right now, if not Oikawa was so busy and wanted by everyone. And maybe he’d even think that Oikawa was thinking of him, even when he was doing important stuff. He smiled and quickly texted Iwaizumi to ask if he was free on the time of the reservation, then put the phone away and reached out for the ice cream, once again settling his eyes on the tv-screen, now viewing some 90’s horror movie. But his mind was elsewhere, already planning out the details for their second date.

 

Oikawa had spent the following Thursday getting ready. He had gone to the hairdresser to get a blow dry – he had been gifted with amazing hair by nature, but keeping it perfect did take some work, and he knew it looked extra good – even with minimal styling – just after a blow-dry.

On the second date, Oikawa always dressed to the nines. Not that he was dressed sloppily the first time, but this time they were eating at a Michelin restaurant, where reservations were only available if you knew someone. Luckily, Oikawa knew that someone – of course, his friend Mattsun was still just an apprentice to the famous chef, and Oikawa knew he didn’t just ask for the best reservations every week while still so low in the ranks, but whenever there were cancellations, he didn’t mind giving out the tables for Oikawa.

Normally, Oikawa would have let the mark choose the place on the first date, then choose himself on the second. The second he had laid his eyes on the ramen shop, he’d changed his mind. It didn’t look bad; it was just… full of identical suits. It would feel like anything but a romantic date, which was the mood Oikawa had hoped to set. And he felt like he had succeeded – at least he had gotten a second date. Then again, he had also gotten his part of the bill to pay himself, which was a first (not counting the time he made the mistake of going out to eat with Kenma, who _definitely_ didn’t want to pay for him). So, since Oikawa let Iwaizumi make him pay for himself, he decided that it was fair enough that he didn’t let Iwaizumi choose the first spot – or the second.

When the night finally arrived, Oikawa knew he looked dashing. He had done everything in his power to do so, and his clothes were expensive and well-fitting, his shoes polished and every part of his outfit screaming luxury – Iwaizumi needed to know that he wanted luxury, and Iwaizumi needed to give him that.

When they finally met up in front of the restaurant, Oikawa didn’t miss Iwaizumi taking a second glance at him, and Oikawa reached in for a hug, this time feeling comfortable enough to do so without fearing a rejection. Also, he wanted Iwaizumi to smell his cologne, remember his scent. It was Oikawa’s signature, and mixed with the sweetness of his shampoo, it had worked wonders for him in the past. Iwaizumi was dressed more casually than for work – with a light blue button-down and his blazer jacket thrown over his arm, but folded carefully so it wouldn’t get wrinkly, with matching black chinos and leather shoes. He was freshly shaved, seemed more relaxed than usually – maybe because they didn’t meet in the middle of a business day – and while Oikawa intended for Iwaizumi to get mesmerized by his smell while hugging, he couldn’t help but inhale and notice Iwaizumi’s. He smelled differently, less perfume and more human, but Oikawa was good at discerning smells, so he did notice the faint smell of musk and pine, one of those typical ‘I’m a man and I don’t want to smell flowery like a girl’-perfume, but it mixed _so_ nicely with the fresher smell of his aftershave. Was that eucalyptus? When Oikawa pulled back, he realised that Iwaizumi had asked him something.

“What did you say?” Oikawa said, keeping up a charming smile. Iwaizumi sent him a confused look, probably wondering why Oikawa wasn’t listening, but judging from his furrowed brow, the explanation he assumed was far from the truth.

“How did you get a reservation for this place?” Iwaizumi said, motioning towards the restaurant.

“Oh, I know a guy,” Oikawa said, brushing it off like it was nothing. That would both make Iwaizumi think that Oikawa had lots of powerful contacts and it made it obvious that he didn’t want to dwell on the subject – if he did, he’d risk having to actually say that his ‘contact’ was simply an apprentice, mostly chopping onions and shit like that until he actually proved his worth. Well, as long as Mattsun got Oikawa a reservation, he couldn’t really care less – and he had tasted the man’s food, he was good. You needed to be good to get to work in a place with _two_ Michelin stars. “Do you actually know the place, Iwa-chan?”

“I’ve had a meeting here and-,” Iwaizumi began, but stopped himself. “Hey! Why do you sound so surprised?” he said, looking as if Oikawa had insulted him. Oikawa couldn’t help but smile at the opportunity to provoke him.

“Judging how you take your coffee, I just assumed you didn’t like good food,” Oikawa sad, blinking at him innocently as they went for the door. Iwaizumi opened it and held it for him, and Oikawa smiled confidently as he stepped in the trendy restaurant, knowing well that he was one of the most attractive people in there. He skimmed the room quickly – locking eyes shortly with a beautiful young woman, who was eating with a man about twice her age, and they smiled at each other shortly. There was something about sugar babies and puppies, it was so easy sniffing out the other, and there was a feeling of unity whenever Oikawa met others.

A waitress came over quickly, smiling brightly at both Oikawa and Iwaizumi. “Have you made a reservation?” she asked, giving them a quick onceover and obviously seeming to approve of their appearances. Oikawa could only imagine how many confused tourists came in daily after having read some dumb article on the internet about the place, thinking that this place was just a drop-in for foreigners.

“Yes, a table for Oikawa?” Oikawa said, giving her his typical, charming smile that could win over the grumpiest of people. He noticed her hitched breath as she looked down to find his name on the list. Iwaizumi stepped up next to him, awkwardly shifting his weight between his feet. Oikawa found it a bit cute, and, more importantly, it gave him a rush of confidence to know that he was the one feeling most comfortable and at home in such environments, being able to impress Iwaizumi simply by doing what he always did. He did take great pride in being able to fit in almost anywhere and naturally becoming the center of attention wherever he went. The waitress showed them to their table, sadly not as secluded as Oikawa had wished for, but with enough room between the tables for them to be able to talk privately without others listening. After putting the menus on the table, she quickly vanished and left him and Iwaizumi in each other’s company, hopefully realising that this was, in fact, a date.

This time, Oikawa didn’t hold back when the waitress asked for something to drink. He ordered a flask of sake, asked Iwaizumi if he wanted to share, to which the other agreed, and then looked over the wine card, wondering if he should actually order a wine with his food. Normally, he’d order one of the more expensive bottles of wine to test and see if Iwaizumi would really pay for it, but he couldn’t really order a wine before knowing what they were going to eat, and honestly his knowledge on the matter was a bit lacking – when buying wines to drink at home, he just bought the ones with the cute sakura-themed bottles, because he thought they were pretty and they tasted just fine to him. He put down the wine-card and went for the food menu instead, smiling at Iwaizumi.

“What are you in the mood for, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa said, only letting his eyes peek up over the menu.

“Last time I was here, I got this amazing bowl with soba noodles,” Iwaizumi said, smiling, as the waitress came in with the bottle and poured up their drinks. Oikawa didn’t miss her shy smile in his direction before she turned away to serve another table, but turned his attention back to Iwaizumi, who was focused on the menu.

“They have amazing sashimi, but I heard that they’re pretty well known for the dashi, so I imagine the soups being amazing,” Oikawa said.

“Oh, there’s agedashi tofu,” Iwaizumi said, smiling as he pointed at the top of the second page in his menu.

“That’s a side order, silly,” Oikawa said, after finding it in the menu he was holding, but then a thought popped into his head. “We could ask for kaiseki-ryori, if you want to?” he asked, smiling brightly.

“Ah, it’s been ages since I had kaiseki,” Iwaizumi said with a nostalgic smile. Oikawa nodded enthusiastically, getting excited by the idea. Ordering lots of smaller dishes would make it natural for them to share food, and doing so already when they were so early into the relationship, especially with someone as slow as Iwaizumi, was a huge step in the right direction.

“Let’s order it then!” Oikawa said cheerfully, waving over the waitress, who came in no time, since she was still looking in Oikawa’s direction most of the time. He wasn’t unused to this kind of attention, but normally it annoyed him when he was going out with someone – except in situations like these, where he could use it for his own good.

“Relax, she barely just walked away from us, she has other tables to serve,” Iwaizumi said, not seeing that the waitress was already on her way. She took out her pen and stood next to the table, mostly turned towards Oikawa.

“Are you ready to order?” she asked after coming over, and Oikawa nodded, smiling broadly at Iwaizumi, who just huffed in annoyance, rolling his eyes.

This time, Oikawa took the lead and ordered the smaller courses for them to share, turning up his charm to the max, making sure that the waitress didn’t lose interest in him, winking at her, leaning in over the table, but not without stealing a glance at Iwaizumi every other second to see how he reacted. After Oikawa had ordered and the waitress was shuffling away with a flustered smile, Oikawa turned to his date, smiling broadly.

“Are you always like that?” Iwaizumi asked grumpily. Was he pouting? Oh, god. Oikawa couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said breezily, shrugging as he leaned back in his seat, but shifting his feet under the table so his leg was touching Iwaizumi’s. At first Iwaizumi sat up straight, surprised by the sudden contact. He looked up at Oikawa, brows still furrowed.

“You’re gonna get premature wrinkles if you keep up that frown,” Oikawa said, still smiling innocently.

“You shitty…” Iwaizumi began, but was interrupted when the waitress came out with the first servings.

“Waitress-chan, please help me. My partner here seems to think that I’m shitty. Do you think I look shitty?” Oikawa said, turning to the waitress just as she was about to turn away after placing their plates.

“N-no, sir,” she said, looking between Iwaizumi and Oikawa dubiously. Of course, Oikawa had played this situation intelligently, because not only did he know that she found him attractive, he also knew that, even if she didn’t, as a waitress she’d try to play along simply because she had to give good service. “I think you’re very attractive, uh, sir,” she said, quickly turning back, as if she was too shy to see his reaction. Oikawa turned his gaze back to the man sitting in front of him, a devious smirk still on his lip. Now Iwaizumi would feel obligated to compliment Oikawa after the self deprecation – especially after even the waitress did it – but instead of the expected sweet talk, Oikawa felt a sharp jab of pain shoot through his leg from his shin, and he was too shocked to hold back a high-pitched shriek. The guests at the nearest tables turned their heads towards him, and Oikawa glared at Iwaizumi, who was now giggling, hiding his mouth behind his hand.

“Very mature, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, leaning down to touch the place he was kicked and wincing when he did so.

The waitress came back with the rest of the dishes, but this time Oikawa had no interest in talking to her, instead looking at the small courses hungrily, his mouth watering. Both men grabbed their chopsticks and started trying out the dishes, commenting on whether or not they liked them.

Iwaizumi reached over and took the tiny plate with three pieces of agedashi tofu, placing it in front of himself and taking the first bite, sighing contentedly. Raising an eyebrow, Oikawa smiled wryly, regarding Iwaizumi as he swallowed it.

“I’m surprised to see you hog all of the tofu, a big, strong man like you must prefer the more meaty dishes,” Oikawa teased, bringing a takoyaki to his mouth and chewing it, his attention still on Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi looked up in confusion, taking a while to let the words sink in and then locked eyes with Oikawa.

“I fucking love fried tofu,” he said, keeping his expression completely serious. At first, Oikawa couldn’t help but just stare back at Iwaizumi in silence, but after a few seconds he cracked, laughing out loud at how genuinely Iwaizumi had said it. Iwaizumi smiled, his mouth full of another bite of tofu.

After finishing, he took another sip of the sake, turning his attention back to Oikawa. “So, what’s your favourite food?” he asked. Oikawa bit his lip, looking down at the food. His unwillingness to answer didn’t miss Iwaizumi’s attention, and the other man leaned in, smirking. “Oh, so you’re making fun of my favourite food, but you won’t say your own?” he asked, trying to provoke an answer out of Oikawa. And of course, Oikawa relented.

“Milkbread,” Oikawa mumbled.

“The kind you buy in convenience stores?” Iwaizumi laughed, and Oikawa huffed, offended.

“The balance between the milk and the bread is _superb,_ okay?” Oikawa said defensively.

“Sure,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes as he poured up more sake for the both of them.

“Oh, let me order a new one!” Oikawa said when Iwaizumi shook the bottle upon realising that it was empty. Iwaizumi nodded, placing the empty bottle on the table and turned to look at Oikawa.

“Yes, call your new fangirl,” he said, rolling his eyes. Oikawa winked at him, and turned to the waitress with a victorious smile, happy that the attention he was garnering finally got a reaction from Iwaizumi.

“You’re just jealous,” he said, his voice peppy, as he got the waitress’ attention, waving her over.

 

Another bottle of sake and several small dishes later, both of them were full and slightly buzzing, their rose-dusted cheeks the greatest tell that they were mildly intoxicated. The waitress came over with the bill, placing the bill in the middle of the table and changing out Oikawa’s napkin with a new one. At first, Oikawa looked down in confusion, then it simply turned into a knowing smile, and he covered the napkin with his hand, looking at Iwaizumi expectantly.

Fortunately, Iwaizumi reached out for the check himself this time, and Oikawa folded his hands as a silent prayer, thanking whatever gods where with him that day. His success – finally getting Iwaizumi to pay for the dinner – sent a wave of euphoria through him, and excitedly he burst out the worst thing possible, knowing his dinner partner. “Should I tip the waitress?” But it was too late. Before he could clasp his hands to his mouth, Iwaizumi looked up with a lazy smile.

“Considering how you disturbed her work thorough the whole meal...” Iwaizumi said, jokingly. Oikawa was panicking inside, this time cursing the gods that let him make this grave mistake. But Oikawa was not the kind of person who gave up that easily. And Iwaizumi was still joking about it, he hadn’t lost that battle yet.

“My presence seemed to be enough of a reward for her,” Oikawa said, smiling smugly. Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes, not even dignifying Oikawa with an answer. Iwaizumi’s reaction, of course, only made Oikawa smile broader. Time to bring in the heavy artillery. “I could also accept her number instead of leaving it here,” he said, shrugging it off as a simple remark. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, confusion clear in his eyes.

“Do you think she’s going to-“ Iwaizumi asked, but stopped mid-sentence, gaping when Oikawa lifted the napkin that the waitress had given him, showing Iwaizumi the number written on it with a pen. Iwaizumi shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he said. Oikawa kept his smile up, shrugging as if it was nothing. “You are unbelievable,” Iwaizumi repeated, and then he stood up, reaching for his jacket.

“So quick to leave,” Oikawa said, his voice sultry, as he stood up himself and walked over, placing a hand on Iwaizumi’s upper arm, slightly saddened that the jacket now covered his muscles – they were more visible through the thin fabric of the shirt, and for that Oikawa had been grateful. “Are you jealous?” Oikawa said playfully, not trying to hide his smug grin.

“Is there a reason for me to be?” Iwaizumi said calmly, not at all falling for Oikawa’s provocation. He glanced down at Oikawa’s hand still placed on his arm, as if to verify that he was aware that this was a case of mutual attraction. But Oikawa wasn’t deterred by a bit of counteraction; on the other hand, it made him more excited.

Walking out side by side with shoulders slightly brushing, Oikawa couldn’t help but let out a giggle under his breath. Standing up and walking around had made him realise that he was indeed a bit tipsy. Walking the short way to the door wasn’t a problem, but he still felt somewhat unsteady on his feet, but having his date walk right next to him made him calm down – if he fell, at least he could drag Iwaizumi down with him.

When they finally got out of the restaurant, a cold breath of air hit him in the face, sobering him up slightly. Oikawa stood up straight and shook his head to clear his head. He was a man on a mission; he couldn’t forget that. He turned his attention to Iwaizumi, who was just walking next to him, seemingly deep in thought.

“So, are you gonna invite me home for a cup of coffee now?” Oikawa asked, smiling challengingly. Iwaizumi looked up and lifted an eyebrow at his question, then looking down again as he was grabbing for his car keys in his pockets. Of course, Oikawa wasn’t going to go with him home, but he had to ask to see if Iwaizumi would come up with a dumb excuse – there was always the risk that he was lying about where he lived, or that he had a secret wife at home.

“Uh, sure,” Iwaizumi said, taking out the keys and grabbing the remote, while they walked down the street. “But I have work early tomorrow.”

“You perv, Iwa-chan! I was just kidding,” Oikawa said, laughing, as he playfully dashed Iwaizumi’s shoulder, taking a short look at the keys in his hand – the remote was for an Audi. “I don’t … have coffee with people on the first date,” Oikawa said in a teasing tone, insinuating that he had been joking.

“I thought this was the second one,” Iwaizumi said with a smile.

“No, didn’t I say that on the first da-, I mean, lunch-meeting? You pay for the other when you invite them on a date,” Oikawa said teasingly, leaning in so their shoulders touched. Iwaizumi’s smile faltered a bit. It was only a slight change in his expression, but Oikawa noticed, and he quickly felt himself sober up. He hated how it felt like a taboo, paying for the other. Even in non-sugar relationships this was a normal thing, and Oikawa didn’t understand his reluctance. He quickly stopped in his tracks, putting a hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder so he wouldn’t move, and then stood in front of him, locking eyes with him. Yup, something was definitely plaguing Iwaizumi’s mind, and Oikawa felt a desperate need to put something else on his mind. So he did the only thing he could think of and leaned in, locking their lips.

At first, Iwaizumi froze in place, and, despite Iwaizumi just standing there stiffly, Oikawa’s first thought was how soft his lips were. A moment later, Oikawa felt Iwaizumi’s body relax, and he retaliated the kiss, welcoming Oikawa. Even though he hadn’t realised it before, Oikawa felt less tense after being kissed back, as if he was actually concerned of whether or not Iwaizumi wanted this.

The kiss started out soft and unsure, but after a little while, Oikawa felt enough confidence to let his tongue slip out between his lips, gently touching Iwaizumi’s lower lip, to which the other man opened his mouth in invitation, letting Oikawa in. Oikawa breathed in, and Iwaizumi’s smell overpowered him again. Their kiss deepened, but when a car noisily accelerated down the street, both seemed to realise that they were still in public. Iwaizumi pulled back first, but didn’t seem to shy away from Oikawa’s hand, still placed on his shoulder.

“I should go home,” Oikawa said, trying to sound less dazed by the kiss than he felt. The tingle in his lips was because of the alcohol, he told himself, definitely not the kiss. A simple kiss couldn’t make him feel like that; he wasn’t some horny teenager.

“Uh, okay,” Iwaizumi said, his voice slightly hoarse. A voice inside Oikawa told him to lean in and kiss Iwaizumi goodbye, to inhale his scent just one more time, to let him drive him home. Maybe even let him stay the night. A more reasonable side of him yelled at him to get away quickly before he did something that could put his plan on the line.

“There’s a taxi! I’ll see you later, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, right after noticing the car behind him, practically running away from Iwaizumi to the taxi on the other side of the street, the best escape plan he could come up with on the spot. He only hoped that Iwaizumi would think of his running as him trying to reach the cab before it drove away, despite the fact that the car was parked, the driver obviously having no plans of driving before he got a customer, and not Oikawa running away because he was being weak. Which he totally wasn’t. Oikawa Tooru was not weak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this isn't too cringeworthy, especially for people who knows about the Japanese cuisine, bc I obviously don't. In my fav non-sushi japanese restaurant, there's something called ippin-ryori which they say is basically just "a la carte" but when googling it, I couldn't find other pages using those words, so I just went with kaiseki-ryori, which, according to wiki (im so sorry man...) consists of several smaller dishes. From what I understood, it's not as simple as that, though. Takoyaki was actually the reason I went to that restaurant, bc my friend wanted to try it, so I found that restaurant (the only place I could find in my city!) and we went there. Now it's one of my favourite places!  
> For the sakura wine, I was thinking about a conversation I overheard between my father and his friend who owns a wine store, he said that whenever selling wine to Japan vs the rest of the world, they actually bottled them in completely different designs, because they just had a completely different way of advertising and marketing in Japan.  
> Also, whenever I'm shopping, I also pick the wine based on whichever bottle looks the nicest, haha. 
> 
> Again, I hope you enjoy and I hope that this wasn't too bad. I tend to prefer writing after 1 or 2am.


	5. Competition is never good for the business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hello, is this Oikawa Tooru?” a deep voice said on the other end of the line.
> 
> “No, who’s asking?” Kenma said[...]. 
> 
> “This is Kuroo Tetsurou, I’m an associate of Iwaizumi,” 
> 
> [Oikawa isn't the only one who's interested in Iwaizumi, but with a little help from their friends, Oikawa makes up a plan to change that]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you all for kudos and comments. Especially comments. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that comments really do make you want to write more, so thank you so much for that. I'll remember to comment on the fics I like to spread the love that I've been given. I'm very grateful.  
> I wrote this between 2 and 5am last night so sorry about that, also IWA isn't even appearing in this chapter, omg

It had been an uneventful week. Oikawa was lying sprawled across the couch, Kenma sitting upright in one end with his computer in his lap, unable to fill out more space since Oikawa had already conquered most of the sofa. Oikawa had broken his record in solitaire and had already done a marathon of the original trilogy _and_ the prequels of his favourite movie franchise, but somehow he felt even more bored than usual whenever he had nothing to do.

“Just text him,” Kenma said, not looking up from his computer. Oikawa sighed resignedly.

“You know I can’t. I already explained to you, I have to-“ Oikawa began, but was rudely interrupted by a very uninterested wave of Kenma’s hand.

“Yeah, you already told me. Can you stop shaking your leg?” Kenma said, turning his head from the screen to throw a quick glance between Oikawa and his shaking leg hanging over the backrest.

“I do that when I’m restless,” Oikawa said impatiently, moving his leg down and sitting up slightly. At first, he had waited until he was finally home to message Iwaizumi – despite staring at his phone all the way home in the taxi anxiously – and the next day they had texted sporadically through the day, until Makki and Mattsun, who were hanging out with Oikawa that night, had pointed out that he was texting more eagerly than usually. In fear of seeming too interested, available, or, God forbid it, desperate, Oikawa had decided to put down some rules to keep from making Iwaizumi too comfortable with the idea of Oikawa being at his disposal constantly. He decided to only text Iwaizumi at specific times of the day, not allowing himself to fit into Iwaizumi’s schedule – kept him curious for more, making sure that Iwaizumi was aware of how lucky he was that Oikawa took a bit of time out of his packed schedule to him and him only. Stiffling a yawn, Oikawa restarted his game of solitaire after getting stuck.

When actually texting Iwaizumi, Oikawa didn’t hold back on his flirting, though. He had to seem unavailable, but still available at the same time – interested, but not for nothing in return. Iwaizumi sometimes sent messages in what Oikawa assumed was his lunch breaks, and Oikawa had to turn off his phone more than once to keep from replying immediately. But Iwaizumi hadn’t seen bothered or frustrated by Oikawa’s texting becoming a more rare occurrence, seemingly not really taking the bait. Oikawa had already planned for the next date, but he was still waiting for the right time to finally have a ‘free spot’ in his imaginarily busy calendar.

Oikawa’s phone started ringing in his hands while he was still in the middle of the game, and out of shock, he threw the phone up in the air with a squeal, wailing when it fell down on his stomach. He didn’t recognise the number, and when Oikawa did nothing, Kenma took the phone and looked over at Oikawa questioningly, as if asking for permission to pick it up. Oikawa nodded gratefully, and Kenma pressed the “answer call” button and turned on the speaker, waiting for the caller to talk while writing down the number in the search field on his computer with his free hand.

“Hello, is this Oikawa Tooru?” a deep voice said on the other end of the line.

“No, who’s asking?” Kenma said, despite probably already knowing, already having looked up the caller ID information on the screen in front of him.

“This is Kuroo Tetsurou, I’m an associate of Iwaizumi,” Oikawa instantly knew where he remembered the voice from, piecing together the voice and the image of the tall man with the black, messy hair. Oikawa quickly sat up and reached for the phone, and Kenma gave it to him, not interested in keeping the conversation going.

“Oikawa here!” he said quickly, sitting up straight in his chair, his eyes still on Kenma, who returned to whatever he was doing on his computer. Oikawa cleared his throat quickly, not liking how shrill his voice sounded after having complained in higher keys for so long.

“Who was I-, nevermind,” Kuroo mumbled, but stopped himself as if he suddenly remembered why he called. “Oikawa! Why the fuck is Iwaizumi talking with Daishou Suguru?” Kuroo said, and Oikawa clasped his hand over his mouth to muffle his gasp. “And don’t even act like you don’t know him, I know what you guys do,” Kuroo said, judgmentally.

“I, uh,” Oikawa mumbled.

“I don’t care – I mean, where do you think _I_ know him from?” Kuroo said, and Oikawa felt his shoulders relax, not even knowing that he had tensed up. Of course Kuroo had to be part of the sugar scene if he knew both Oikawa, Daishou Suguru of all people, _and_ the fact that Oikawa had to know about the guy simply by being part of it him self. Oikawa wasn’t really surprised that Kuroo knew, he had been recognised at parties before, but why on earth would Kuroo come to him for help if he knew that he was a sugar puppy, the same as Suguru?

“Why are you asking me?” Oikawa said, still processing the fact that Iwaizumi was actually talking to someone else than him. The thought made him clench his fist in frustration, and he hid it under the table, sending Kenma his most reassuring smile, but he stared right through him – so Oikawa did what he usually did, turned around on his chair and made it impossible to meet Kenma’s glare.

“Because, from what Iwaizumi has told me about you, you actually seem to like him, and, man, I don’t know why I’m calling _you_ of all people, but I can’t let Daishou get to him, and I’d rather deal with you than him,” Kuroo said.

“I’m offended,” Oikawa squawked, but he was more bothered by the fact that his Iwa-chan was falling for another sugar puppy’s game than Kuroo thinking of him as an easier battle. Daishou Suguru was probably still annoyed about Oikawa stealing that old billionaire from him, but honestly, he was nothing like the man Iwa-chan needed. He was self-centered, annoying, cared more about his looks than Iwa-chan enjoying himself, and he was dominant in bed. Kenma stared at him with an eyebrow lifted, and once again Oikawa felt like his quiet roommate knew exactly what he was thinking. He smiled back this time, though.

“Are you gonna help me or what?” Kuroo said, and Oikawa suddenly remembered that he was still on the phone.

“I’m in,” Oikawa said, before pressing the end call and laying his phone on the table. “Kenma, I need your-“ he began, but Kenma interrupted him.

“No,” he said, turning away and putting in headphones, as if to say ‘it’s settled’. Oikawa reached over to pull one of them out, but his phone vibrated, and he recognised the number from before.

“You miss me already?” Oikawa said, teasingly, and he could hear Kuroo laugh in the background.

“No. But I kind of need some info if we’re going to meet up and plan this out for real,” Kuroo said.

“Oh,” Oikawa mumbled, and turned to Kenma with a smile. “I have a friend who can help, I’ll text you the address.”

 

An hour later, the door phone buzzed and Kenma sighed deeply as Oikawa ran out to let the guest in.

“I hate you, Tooru,” he said. Oikawa blew a kiss at him. “Yaku is coming over in 20 minutes, I don’t have time to help you with your dumb crush,” Kenma said again, obviously trying to argument himself out of helping, but Oikawa ignored him – he had already agreed to do it, and Oikawa knew that Yaku didn’t mind. Okay, he probably did, but no one could say no to Oikawa Tooru if he tried hard enough.

“I’m the best roommate, I know,” he said, before walking out to let them in.

After a knock on the door, Oikawa opened it and greeted Kuroo, but stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on the tall, white haired boy behind him.

“Uh, I, uh, I had to bring a friend,” Kuroo said, and the almost awkwardly tall and lanky young man waved at him, smiling. The stranger was obviously at least half foreigner, or definitely mixed with something, and his green eyes were sharp, despite his childish face. “This is Haiba Lev,” Kuroo said, and said man reached out to shake hands. Oikawa took it and gave him his most charming smile – if Kuroo knew him and decided to bring him, he was either rich or worked at Iwa-chan’s workplace.

Oikawa let them in, both men taking off their shoes and following Oikawa into the living room, where Kenma had moved to the dining table, his computer still in front of him. He barely looked up at first, but after realising that there weren’t just one, but two guests, he looked up.

“Uh,” Kenma said, looking between the two tall strangers standing in the middle of their living room and Oikawa.

“Kuroo Tetsurou and Haiba Lev, this is Kozume Kenma, my roommate and tech-savvy accomplice. Both men seemed to pique in interest, staring at Kenma in silence, as if waiting for permission to attack him with questions.

“Just Kenma,” the only smaller man in the room said, looking down at his screen as if there was nothing special about their situation, but Oikawa knew better and instantly moved closer to Kenma, grasping for ideas to make him feel less uncomfortable.

“Thank you for letting me come as well, Oikawa-san,” Haiba Lev said, smiling broadly. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow, stealing a quick glance at Kuroo who shrugged, not even trying to look apologetic.

“So, we’re all gathered here for a reason,” Oikawa said, clasping his hands.

“To save Iwaizumi-san from a snake?” Haiba Lev said, following Kuroo and Oikawa when they sat down at the dining table. Luckily they had exactly four chairs.

“From Daishou Suguru, Lev,” Kuroo corrected the younger man.

“Suguru-san? The guy you’re always bickering with when…” Lev blabbered, but his voice slowly died out when he realised that Kuroo was glaring him down.

“The guy who’s trying to steal our pure Iwaizumi from pretty boy here,” Kuroo said, looking at Oikawa. Lev nodded excitedly, smiling at Oikawa, who was still processing the news about Kuroo’s relationship with Daishou – of course there was a reason for Kuroo to ask Oikawa for help, if he had an issue with Iwaizumi dating a sugar baby, he definitely wouldn’t have come to Oikawa for help.

“So, how do we take him down?” Kenma finally spoke up, keeping his voice uninterested.

“He’s ab-so-lute-ly filthy… So yeah, just a heads up,” Kuroo said, leaning back in his chair while regarding Kenma. Oikawa stood up.

“Anyone want coffee?” he asked, smiling brightly.

“Sure,” Kenma said, and Lev nodded excitedly. Oikawa glanced at Kuroo again, wondering if it was a smart idea to give Lev caffeine.

“I’ll help you make it,” Kuroo said, following Oikawa into the kitchen.

At first, Kuroo observed Oikawa ready the coffee in silence, but without Oikawa had realised it, the taller man had walked over and leaned in, sending him a lazy smile.

“So, you’re a, uh, sugar puppy?” he asked. Oikawa stopped in his tracks, wincing as he realised that Iwaizumi’s friend now knew his secret. Then he remembered what Kuroo had said on the phone and turned to face him, smiling back.

“So, you’re a sugar daddy?” he asked as innocently as possible. Kuroo’s smirk vanished as quickly as it had come, and the other man contemplated the question for a minute, then shrugged. Oikawa smiled. “Why come to me for help, though?” he said, turning his attention back to the coffee when he decided that the most important question was answered (or at least taken care of) as he started the small talk.

“Iwaizumi talks about you,” Kuroo said, his smile returning again. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow, trying to hide his excitement by the words.

“He does?” he asked, keeping his tone nonchalant.

“Yup,” Kuroo said, taking two of the coffee cups as Oikawa finished pouring up. Oikawa grabbed the other two in one hand and the sugar in the other.

When they came back out in the living room, Kenma was leaning away from Lev, who was definitely inside Kenma’s personal space. Kenma didn’t seem bothered enough to worry Oikawa, but he still felt slightly bad for inviting two strangers over and leaving Kenma alone with the overexcited one of them. Kuroo walked over and gave Lev his cuffee cop, pointing at the empty chair on the other side of the table, and Lev quickly followed his instructions and went over to sit there. Kuroo, on the other hand, stole Oikawa’s chair next to Kenma’s and looked at the computer in front him, but, to Oikawa’s relief, he kept his distance. Unlike Lev, he wasn’t completely oblivious, he actually seemed to be on the other side of the spectrum, constantly observing.

“So, you do the same thing as Oikawa, or?” Kuroo asked, leaning in over table, taking a sip of his coffee. Kenma looked back at Kuroo with an empty stare and nodded once, to which Kuroo looked slightly surprised. “Oh, uh, I mean, I know they come in all shapes and sizes, but you don’t give off that vibe. At all,” Kuroo said.

“He’s… not…” Oikawa managed to say between his giggles. Kenma probably thought Kuroo had meant his daytime job at the department store.

“Oh, so, you’re like an escort?” Kuroo said. Kenma’s frowned, confusion evident in his expression. “Or … platonic?” Kuroo guessed, as if he was scared of offending Kenma. Kenma stared at Kuroo until realization hit him, then he turned his face away, now several shades darker red. Oikawa couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.

“Oh, God! Ha! He works at the same department store as I do,” Oikawa said, covering his mouth as he unsuccessfully tried holding back his laughter. Kenma still refused to look up and Kuroo was looking extremely uncomfortable. Lev had apparently been caught up with putting sugar in his coffee, but finally seemed to realise the awkward situation, but before he was able to speak up, someone knocked the door. This time Kenma quickly stood up and walked out to open it.

Oikawa clasped his hands together, turning to Kuroo and Lev.

“So, about saving Iwa-chan from Suguru,” Oikawa began, smiling broadly. Kuroo nodded, suddenly remembering why he was there.

“What on earth were those men in suits doing out there? They looked like security guards or bouncers,” a new voice said, as Yaku Morisuke, Kenma’s friend, joined them in the room. Both Kuroo and Lev stood up, looking at Yaku curiously. Even next to Kenma, who was short compared to Oikawa, Yaku looked tiny. Being baby-faced on top of that made Yaku look even younger, and in the company of Oikawa and two extremely tall men, Yaku looked surprisingly dignified. He stepped into the room, his presence overshadowing whatever they were talking about. Until Lev stepped over and smiled broadly.

“You’re so cute!” Lev said excitedly, and Oikawa’s smile faltered. Oh, no.

“What?” Yaku said, looking up at him in surprise. He had to crane his neck to look up at him, and he looked even smaller next to the unnaturally tall and slim Lev.

“You’re so little!” Lev elaborated, not sensing the danger of the situation. Yaku stared up at him, puffing out his chest.

“What the fuck do you mean, you beanpole?” Yaku said, and Lev gasped in surprise at his word.

“Yaku…” both Kenma and Oikawa began, stepping closer to him, as if to hold him back.

“You wanna fight?” Yaku said, probably not serious in his threat. Kenma still laid a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re even smaller than Kenma-san! How old are you?” Lev asked curiously smiling broadly at the shorter man. Yaku, on the other hand, was almost shaking with anger over the comments.

“I’m probably the oldest in here, you idiot,” Yaku said. Lev clasped his hands together, looking at Yaku with fascination.

“You must be really successful, then! What do you do? Are you in the same business as Oikawa, or-“ Lev rambled, but Yaku cut him off him quickly.

“I am not!” he said, but then he blushed slightly. “I, uh, I work in McDonalds,” he mumbled, looking away, a bit ashamed.

“I love McDonalds!” Lev answered, enthusiastic as ever. Yaku turned to glare at Oikawa, having decided that he was to blame for bringing in the noisy giant. Oikawa turned to look at Kuroo, blaming him. Kuroo, was looking at Yaku and Lev, smirking knowingly.

“I like this guy,” Kuroo said, and Lev turned to look at him.

“I like your hair,” Yaku said sarcastically. Kuroo gaped, and Oikawa could hear Kenma snicker. Oikawa chuckled himself.

“This is Yaku Morisuke,” Oikawa said, realising that he still hadn’t presented himself.

“My name is Haiba Lev!” Lev almost yelled, looking down at Yaku with stars in his eyes. Impressed at the fact that Lev seemed even more energetic after Yaku had arrived, Oikawa turned to look at Kuroo.

“Kuroo Tetsurou,” he simply said, pouting slightly about the commentary on his messy hair. Oikawa just laughed.

“We’re forgetting the real reason we’re all here,” Oikawa said. Everyone turned to look at him. “We have to save Iwa-chan from that snake.”

 

After making up a plan – and a lot of bickering between Yaku and Lev – the two tall men finally left, keeping Kenma, Yaku and Oikawa alone finally.

“We have leftover thai if you’re hungry,” Oikawa said to Yaku, smiling. Offering food as a sort of apology. He had never been good at saying sorry.

“Next time you invite me over while having guests, _don’t_ invite me,” Yaku said.

“It was a last minute-emergency,” Kenma said, looking up from his computer. “Right, Tooru?” he said, and Oikawa nodded, grateful for Kenma’s support. Or so he thought. “But that being said, please warn me too, so I can be out next time as well,” Kenma said.

“Why?” Oikawa squealed. Yaku simply sneered at him, and Kenma sighed.

“Lev was too noisy and Kuroo stared too much,” Kenma said simply. Oikawa rolled his eyes and turned to Yaku.

“Do you want thai or not?” he asked, the real question lingering underneath the surface. Am I forgiven? Yaku sighed in defeat, nodding slightly, to which Oikawa jumped up and went out into the kitchen to heat up the leftovers. Yaku joined him shortly after to take out plates and chopsticks to eat with.

“So, you’re going through all of this to keep that Iwaizumi guy with you?” Yaku said absentmindedly as he took out glasses from the cupboard.

“Of course, competition is bad for your business,” Oikawa said, smiling as he took out the container from the microwave. “Shit!” he winced, pulling out his hand when he realised the thing was burning hot.

“I know I don’t know much about the whole thing you’re into, but, uh, isn’t that overdoing it?” Yaku said. Oikawa looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to elaborate. When Yaku realised this, he scratched his neck, looking at the container. “I mean, you _did_ once dump a guy because he said he didn’t like traveling first class,” Yaku said.

“Yaku-chan, you know why I do this. I can’t be with someone that stingy,” Oikawa said, laughing.

“You refuse to pay for anything yourself, Oikawa. You’re stingy,” Yaku said, rolling his eyes as he took the plates and went into the living room to join Kenma at the dining table. Oikawa took out the container with the thai food and ran after Yaku, placing it on the table with a smile.

“Dinner’s ready,” Oikawa said proudly, sitting down.

“Don’t look so smug, you literally just microwaved the leftovers from yesterday,” Kenma said. Oikawa pouted, looking to Yaku for validation, but he was already scooping up a portion for himself. Kenma leaned in, staring at the computer screen. “Uh, guys,” Kenma said quietly, surprise evident in his voice. Both Oikawa and Yaku looked up in surprise, waiting for Kenma to explain. “I think those men in suits were Lev’s. His family is tied to the Russian mafia,” he said. Yaku dropped his chopstick in surprise. Oikawa gasped.

“That means he’s super loaded!” Oikawa said, his lips curling upwards.

“What kind of reaction is that!” Yaku chirped in annoyance, lifting his hand to smack Oikawa’s shoulder, but Oikawa leaned out of reach just in time, pouting at Yaku.

“Relax, I’m not going to steal him from you,” Oikawa joked, and Yaku glared at him.

“I hate you,” Yaku said, rolling his eyes at Oikawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. Next chapter will actually describe the darn plan, I just wanted to have kuroken and yakulev join.  
> Also, I _really_ love Yaku.


	6. Don't ask them, make them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, we’re here to save Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, changing the subject. Lev perched up, interested again, and Kuroo leaned back, making himself comfortable, and nodded.
> 
> “Yes. How did it go?” Kuroo asked, looking at Oikawa.
> 
> “After you so rudely set me up to walk in on your friends getting it on,” Oikawa said, sending Kuroo an evil glare, “I found the right office and we made the plans for tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for being so slow at updating, I've been studying for exams, and to make it up to you, I accidentally made this chapter a bit longer as well. Sorry for the inconsistency.  
> Also, it's 3:45am and my friend isn't awake to read it through before I've posted, so if this is shit, I'm... really sorry? 
> 
> Oh, well, enjoy. x

The plan wasn’t as thought-through as Oikawa had liked, mostly because Kenma had refused to hack into Daishou Suguru’s mail to find out his secrets – _“Tooru, it’s illegal and I don’t even know how to do that, you watch too many bad movies”_ – so Oikawa had to work with what he got and use his natural charm to win Iwaizumi over. Kuroo could help with information on this, and had told Oikawa when Iwaizumi’s lunch break was, so he could come over with a bento box and eat lunch with him. And that was how Oikawa found himself dressed in a white shirt with a cardigan and his glasses, trying to blend in as another office worker ,on his way up the elevator to Iwaizumi’s office. Kuroo had messaged him the number of the office on his way over there, and conveniently enough, he had leftovers from the night before spent eating Mattsun’s food from their weekly get-together, because if Oikawa had to cook himself, Iwaizumi would have probably chosen Daishou Suguru pretty quickly.

Stepping out of the elevator on the eleventh floor, Oikawa looked around and quickly did an overview of the place, turning down the hall to room number 1154, the room that Kuroo had written down as Iwaizumi’s office. When Oikawa arrived, he quickly brushed imaginary dust off his jeans and stood up straight, forcing up a big smile before opening the door and taking a step in.

But, instead of Iwaizumi sitting at his table, waiting for someone to free him from his loneliness, Oikawa walked in on a heated make out session, luckily not including Iwaizumi Hajime.

Instead, a man who seemed even broader built and slightly bigger, more tanned, stood up, his grey and black speckled hair standing out straight in the air, shaped like a grey horned owl. He looked up in shock, his golden eyes meeting Oikawa’s, and the other person who was still turned away from Oikawa with dark, short messy hair quickly jumped away, turning around to assess the damage.

“Oh, shit,” the man with the grey hair said, and Oikawa’s laughter was forced and slightly shrill as he stepped backwards out of the room slowly, trying to close the door after him, but the grey haired man ran over, stopping it from closing.

“I’m sorry, wrong door!” Oikawa said, his voice a mix of amusement and panic. He didn’t want to make an enemy of any of Iwaizumi’s co-workers, especially not if they turned out to be close. Oikawa turned around to walk away, but only a few seconds after, both men were on each side of him, their shoulders touching his, making it impossible for him to run off. Oikawa turned to look at the dark haired person, his steps faltering slightly when he realised how beautiful the other man was. Like, in Oikawa’s league-beautiful. Shit. If all of Iwaizumi’s co-workers were that attractive, Daishou Suguru was the least of Oikawa’s problems.

“Please don’t tell anyone about us,” the beautiful man – and really, Oikawa couldn’t make up a word to fit him better – said, his voice as pretty and calm as his exterior. He looked up at Oikawa under his long, dark eyelashes and stared at him, his eyes not matching his perfect composure. Even his eyes were an amazing green colour, not unlike Iwaizumi’s, and Oikawa felt a pang of envy, but then he remembered the source of the beautiful stranger’s anger; Oikawa walking in on him kissing another man and quite passionately as well.

“Don’t worry, I don’t even work here, I was supposed to find Iwaizumi Hajime,” Oikawa said, stopping in his tracks as he realised that he had no idea of where to go.

“Iwaizumi-san?” The beautiful man asked as both he and his, uh, lover up and turned around so they were standing in front of Oikawa. Oikawa nodded, giving both of them his most practiced smile, the one he knew looked the best.

“Oh, but you’re not Daishou,” the grey haired man said, scratching his head in confusion.

“What? No. Does Daishou actually come here?” Oikawa said, not able to hide his shock, stepping forward in agitation.

“Uh,” the grey haired man said, confused, turning to his secret partner.

“Iwaizumi-san is in office 1104. Were you just going to check every office until you found his?” he said, not trying to mask his discontent.

“N-no, Kuroo sent me here,” Oikawa mumbled, unsure if they knew him. The pretty man turned to the other, this time very obviously irritated.

“Bokuto-san,” he said, his voice still calm.

“I-I didn’t tell him anything Akaashi, I swear!” Bokuto answered sincerely, hiding his face in his hands.

“About Daishou,” Oikawa said, less interested in their lovers quarrel – and especially not interested in thinking about the fact that Kuroo Tetsurou tricked him into walking in on his friends. Oikawa didn’t doubt the fact that Kuroo _definitely_ knew what those two were doing. “What was his relation to Iwaizumi?” Oikawa said, turning to look at the beautiful man, apparently named Akaashi.

“Ah, yes. He’s been visiting a few times,” Akaashi said simply.

“Iwaizumi doesn’t seem that interested if that’s any consolation,” Bokuto said.

“I’m surprised you’ve been so attentive,” Akaashi said, staring at his… lover? Partner? Secret affair?

“I’m _sorry_ ,” Bokuto said again, but to no avail.

“Of course he’s not interested, _I’m_ the one he’s interested in,” Oikawa said, putting a hand on his chest and giving them a convincing smile, hoping that he was right.

“You’re hotter too,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi lifted an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t seem at all jealous. Oikawa smiled, taking in the compliment with pleasure.

“I know,” he simply said, not missing how Akaashi rolled his eyes, preferring Bokuto’s enthusiastic nod.

“So, you’re bringing Iwaizumi-san lunch,” Akaashi said, changing the topic and looking down at the wrapped up bento in Oikawa’s hands. Oikawa nodded. “He’s in room 1104. Please don’t tell anyone about what you saw,” Akaashi simply said, and Oikawa wondered if the threatening undertone was something he had just imagined.

“What? I saw nothing,” Oikawa said, smiling knowingly. Akaashi nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, indicating his acceptance of the answer. Bokuto, on the other hand, apparently didn’t understand, because he stepped forward, lowering his voice.

“He meant what we were doing in the office,” he whispered, wiggling his eyebrows. Oikawa’s eyes widened, and he turned to Akaashi with confusion. Akaashi brought his forefinger and thumb to the bridge of his nose, shaking his head, making it obvious that Bokuto was in fact explaining the situation, not understanding that what Oikawa said was implied. Oikawa briefly wondered what such a beautiful, albeit slightly dry, man did with such a doofus. No matter how nice his tan or broad shoulders were, there were less dense men out there, Iwaizumi being an example.

Oikawa decided that it was probably a good thing that Akaashi had chosen Bokuto and not Iwaizumi. Then he remembered why he was there – to get rid of the competition.

“Room 1104. Thank you,” Oikawa said, smiling at both men and holding up his bento. “Nice to meet you both, I’m Oikawa Tooru,” and with those words, Oikawa turned on his heel and walked down the hall to find Iwaizumi’s office.

“Oikawa-san,” Akaashi called him out and Oikawa turned around, smiling.

“Yes?”

“Iwaizumi-san’s office is the other way,” Akaashi said, his face blank. Bokuto was smiling widely next to him and Oikawa assumed that Bokuto was expressive enough for the both of them.

“Oh, of course,” Oikawa said, turning around quickly and hiding his embarrassment with a shrug, walking past them once again. This time he didn’t say anything, finding his departure embarrassing enough already. Holding his head high, he tried to keep as much dignity as he could, breathing calmly as his mind went back to his main focus. Winning Iwaizumi over.

 

Standing in front of the door that Akaashi had directed him to, 1104, Oikawa exhaled and bit his lip, hoping not to walk in on another loving couple. The thought of the same thing happening to Oikawa once again, but with Iwaizumi and Daishou made him cringe physically, and he tightened his grip on the bento, shaking his head at himself. Jealousy and sugar dating was a bad mix. Of course, Oikawa wasn’t jealous, he just hated the thought of losing to Daishou Suguru. Once again, the image of two men leaning in over the desk, mouths full of each other, but this time Iwaizumi and Daishou Suguru, came to his mind, and inhaled sharply through his nose. He lifted his hand to knock, but before his hand touched the door, it opened abruptly, and Iwaizumi stared at him.

“Oikawa,” he simply said, his lips slightly parted in surprise.

“I thought I’d surprise you with lunch!” Oikawa said, grinning. His bad mood had vanished instantly the second he saw Iwaizumi, and for that he was grateful. It was so much harder to be irresistible when you were angry.

“Thank you,” Iwaizumi said, looking down at the bento box that Oikawa was holding in front of him. “How did you know where I worked, though?” Iwaizumi asked, moving away from the door to let Oikawa in.

“I picked you up here before last time we ate lunch, right?” Oikawa said, smiling.

“Y-yes,” Iwaizumi said, but he still seemed unsure about the explanation.

“You know, every idiot can walk in and ask for your office,” Oikawa explained further, mostly to make his story believable.

“Of course,” Iwaizumi said, looking around his office when closing the door. “Uh, you can just sit down wherever you like,” he said, and with those words, Oikawa went straight for Iwaizumi’s big leather chair behind the desk instead of the two chairs in front of it. His office was medium size, sparsely furbished. The furniture seemed extravagant, but in a subtle way. He didn’t have much of a view with an office on the 11th floor, but it wasn’t bad either, since it was in an area of the city with less tall buildings and skyscrapers.

“So, is there an occasion?” Iwaizumi said, taking one of the seats in front of his table, not commenting on Oikawa preferring _his_ chair.

“Do I need a reason? Is Iwa-chan unused of people just wanting to be with him for the company?” Oikawa teased, opening up the cloth for the lunchbox.

“I’m used to spending my lunchtime with co-workers or mountains of papers,” Iwaizumi just said, curiously looking over what Oikawa was taking out. “Curry? That looks great, I didn’t take you for someone who could cook,” Iwaizumi said, smiling. Oikawa smiled back, shrugging off the compliment. He really couldn’t cook, so Iwaizumi was actually right on that one. He didn’t need to know that, though.

“So, how’s work?” Oikawa said, handing over a pair of chopsticks to Iwaizumi after placing the two bento boxes – one with curry, one with rice – in the middle of the table.

“Fine, I guess. A bigger project is coming up, but right now it’s more like the calm before the storm,” Iwaizumi said, motioning to the few papers laying scattered around on his table. Okay, not scattered, lying organized in three piles.

 

“So you haven’t been busy?” Oikawa asked, focusing on the food rather than Iwaizumi as if to seem more nonchalant. Oikawa knew that pressing on with questions made most people uncomfortable, even suspicious in some cases, and he wasn’t going for that.

“Not more than usual, no,” Iwaizumi answered, also eating from the box. He looked up at Oikawa, smiling slightly. “This is the second time we’re sharing food now,” he said, and Oikawa froze in his tracks, his chopsticks hanging in the air with rice already ready to be eaten, staring at that damn face. The smile wasn’t big, excited or anything. Just a small upwards curve at his lips, a small crinkle in the corner of his eyes, but his smile was so genuine and disarming. Oikawa quickly put the rice in his mouth, smiling broadly again.

“Yeah…” he said, ransacking his mind for a quirky comeback. Iwaizumi hadn’t even said something smooth or cool, yet Oikawa’s mind had still blanked. He glanced down at the table, unsure of how to keep on, almost forgetting why he came. But, as he glanced at the table, a yellow post-it was stuck to a folder of documents, and Oikawa quickly recognised the signature.

 _‘Next time lunch is on you –Suguru’_ It said. Suddenly, Oikawa was very aware of why he was there.

“Iwa-chan,” he said quickly, looking up. Iwaizumi looked up, having focused on eating.

“Yes?” Iwaizumi said, looking completely innocent. Of course, the post-it could mean a lot of things. Oikawa knew Daishou Suguru to be quite the aggressor when trying to find a sponsor, and Iwaizumi seemed to be the kind of man to not turn down someone if he was unsure of their intentions. He wasn’t rude. And from the sound of the note, Iwaizumi hadn’t paid for Daishou Suguru either.

“I really do enjoy being in your company,” Oikawa said, keeping his tone serious as he kept eye contact. Iwaizumi didn’t budge, but kept his gaze calmly.

“I, uh, I like yours too,” Iwaizumi said, thinking shortly, then adding “when you’re not being a complete dumbass, that is,”

“Rude, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, placing a hand on his heart looking as offended as he could, but he couldn’t help but smile anyways. Then he went back to serious, making eye contact with Iwaizumi again. “So,” he said, licking his lips.

“So,” Iwaizumi repeated him, lifting an eyebrow, awaiting his elaboration.

“I’d like to see you again,” Oikawa said.

“Okay,” Iwaizumi said, seeming somewhat confused.

“Okay?” Oikawa asked, leaning back in shock.

“Yes? I mean, uh, sure. When?” Iwaizumi asked, scratching his neck, unsure of what Oikawa meant. What did Oikawa mean, exactly? He felt unsure as well suddenly, the plan tucked away in the back of his mind. Oikawa knew Iwaizumi wasn’t a mind reader – in fact, he seemed to be pretty bad at understanding people’s intentions – and there was no way Iwaizumi would know that Oikawa knew about Daishou Suguru and felt threatened. Oikawa pursed his lips, remembering the plan.

“What about lunch again tomorrow? I’d like to try out that ramen place you talked about last time,” Oikawa said, smiling sweetly at Iwaizumi.

“The last time you said you’d rather eat natto rice for the rest of your life,” Iwaizumi said, scrunching his eyes. “What changed?”

“I’m in the mood for soba,” Oikawa said, shrugging off Iwaizumi’s doubts as if he had never reacted so strongly the last time. He wasn’t in the mood for soba, but Iwaizumi didn’t need to know that. He needed to look forward to their lunch-date.

“Sure,” Iwaizumi said slowly, still unsure. “Okay, tomorrow at the same time?” he asked, and Oikawa nodded enthusiastically.

“I can’t wait to see if the place is as great as you say!” Oikawa said, leaning in and smiling excitedly. Iwaizumi smiled back, his mouth full of curry.

“It’s amazing. But this curry is, well, amazing as well,” Iwaizumi said after swallowing, pointing at it with his chopsticks.

“I can cook for you another time, if you want,” Oikawa said, a broad smile still plastered on his face. Oh, shit. Oikawa had no idea how to cook. Why did he just say that?

“I’d love to,” Iwaizumi said, nodding, as his attention turned back on the curry.

“Great,” Oikawa chirped, looking away to hide his panic. Okay, he could make Mattsun come over and cook before the date, then throw him out before and-, or, uh. Maybe he could learn how to cook beforehand and make something really simple. He could definitely get away with something.

After convincing himself that he could do it, Oikawa breathed out in relief and Iwaizumi looked up curiously.

“Was the cook nervous about how I’d react to the food? Because this is amazing, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi said, smiling reassuringly. Oikawa waved off Iwaizumi’s attempt at comforting him. The cook definitely wasn’t nervous, because the cook was already a trained chef. Oikawa, on the other hand? Oikawa once failed making eggs.

“I just excited for tomorrow,” Oikawa said, smiling at Iwaizumi, who was finishing the curry gratefully.

 

After Oikawa had returned to their apartment, he went to the living room to watch some television before his accomplices would arrive to make sure that everything was going according to plan. Kenma had stayed in his room, probably grumpy about having to be social _again_ , and Oikawa decided to let him be for the time, not wanting to test the one person helping him who wasn’t really gaining anything from the plan. When the doorbell rang, Oikawa ran out and buzzed them – or just Kuroo – in, opening the door and while waiting for them to ascend from the stairs, he yelled out to Kenma that they had company, warning him so he wouldn’t get surprised. Another thing that Oikawa had learned was that Kenma didn’t enjoy surprises, especially not if they were people coming over.

Kuroo had Lev with him again, this time they also had two paper bags with an easily recognisable golden M-logo. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow.

“Fast food, really?” he asked, unimpressed. They were supposed to be rich people with expensive habits. Oikawa’s friends in college had McDonalds with them when they came over too.

“We visited Yaku-san at McDonalds!” Lev said, quickly walking up the stairs, skipping every other step with his long legs.

“Oh? Was he happy to see you?” Oikawa asked, smiling, as the two men were taking off their shoes.

“Surprised!” Lev said, and by the looks of Kuroo’s expression, Oikawa could only imagine that Yaku definitely wasn’t happy to see them. He didn’t even know how they knew _which_ McDonalds Yaku worked at, but with Lev’s family ties, Oikawa sure as hell wasn’t gonna try and find out.

“How did it go?” Kuroo said, a lazy smirk on his lips. Oikawa assumed that this was his usual expression.

“It went grea-,” Oikawa began, but suddenly remembered how it had started out. He gasped, pointing at Kuroo. “And you set me up! Do you think I’m into voyeurism or is that just your weird way of presenting your friends to me?” Oikawa asked, and Kuroo laughed, following Oikawa into the living room with Lev in his heels. Kenma came out of his bedroom, his laptop in his arms. Kuroo’s laughter died down, and he ran a hand through his hair as if to try and fix the catastrophe, but even Oikawa could see that it was a lost cause.

“Good evening,” Kuroo said, looking at Kenma with a slight smile. Kenma sat down by the dining table, not looking up at them before he heard the sound of the paper bags being opened. Kuroo took out two cheeseburgers and then one of those fried apple pie-bags. Kenma’s eyes narrowed and Oikawa lifted an eyebrow curiously as Kuroo went over and gave it to him.

“How did you…” Kenma quietly said, but stopped mid sentence as he nipped on the top of the apple pie.

“I saw your screen name last time we were here,” Kuroo said with a smile, returning his attention to unpacking the food from the bag. Oikawa sat down next to Kenma and grabbed a cheeseburger, unwrapping it and leaning over to see Kenma’s screen. And there it was, Kuroo was right. Kenma’s screen name was _applepi_ , and despite having lived with Kenma for months and actually being a really good people reader, Oikawa hadn’t noticed a thing like that. He knew Kenma liked apple pie – he also knew that Kenma liked sesame ice cream and mochi, and that he liked his coffee with lots of milk, but he knew that because he had seen him do and buy those things several times, not after their first meetings. Oikawa turned his attention to Kuroo who had sat down after unpacking what they had bought, turning to Lev who was eating a BigMac.

“What else did you notice?” Oikawa asked, keeping his eyes on Kuroo, but still noticing Kenma’s movement in the corner of his eye. Kuroo shrugged nonchalantly, taking a bite of his burger.

“Uh,” he said, glancing between Oikawa and Kenma. “You’re uncomfortable with close contact if you’re not comfortable around the person. You flinched whenever Lev came too close,” Kuroo looked at Lev shortly with a judgmental look, as if he was a scolding parent, and Lev shrugged. Poor man seemed so oblivious to the world around him. He seemed like a child trapped in a giant’s body. Oikawa giggled, and he could see Kenma squirm under Kuroo’s allseeing eyes, now suddenly very aware of the fact that he was apparently being observed. Oikawa knew that Kenma didn’t like being the center of attention. “But you barely batted an eye whenever Oikawa or Yaku leaned in close,” Kuroo said, turning his attention to Oikawa. “And you’re pretty physical,” he said. Oikawa shrugged, smiling. That was part of his charm, always being close to people. And since he was pretty good at reading others, he was also aware of when not to do it. He knew when to keep his distance, when to touch reassuringly, when to touch flightily, flirtingly. Oikawa was very aware of his body language, and he put it to good use.

“That’s why you kept your distance to Kenma?” Lev said, and Oikawa looked up in surprise. Maybe the half-foreigner wasn’t as slow as he seemed. Kuroo just shrugged.

“You’re also very aware of the people around you, you seemed to pick up moods and notice things even quicker than me,” Kuroo said, his face having gone back to the lazy smirk. “And quicker than Oikawa, who also seems to be good at reading people,” Kuroo said. Oikawa smiled, slightly impressed, but when Kuroo turned to look at Kenma again, his smile faltered. Oikawa turned to look at Kenma to find the reason for Kuroo’s surprise, but all he saw was Kenma’s usual grumpy pout. Oikawa chuckled, turning to Kuroo when he realised the reason behind his reaction.

“Kenma is impressed, that’s all,” Oikawa said, as is he was translating from another language. And technically, Kenma’s body language seemed to be another language than most other people, but Kuroo seemed to be quick at picking it up anyway. After hearing Oikawa’s reassuring words, Kuroo broke out in a smile, this time not the normal lazy smirk, but a bigger, wide one with more teeth and his eyes squinting slightly.

“Why did you even bother noticing?” Kenma asked, his voice lower than usual, slightly embarrassed – nothing but the change of volume showed any sign of his embarrassment.

Kuroo leaned in over the table, taking the rest of the cheeseburger in one big bite. It seemed like everyone, even the usually vocal Lev, were awaiting in silence as he was chewing, dragging out the time.

“You’re fascinating,” Kuroo said, as if it was obvious. He grabbed another burger and unwrapped it, showing no signs of having anything to add. Kenma lowered his head and Oikawa knew he did it to make his hair fall down as a curtain, shielding him from the world. Oikawa decided to be merciful to his roommate and sat up straight, putting his fist on the table.

“So, we’re here to save Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, changing the subject. Lev perched up, interested again, and Kuroo leaned back, making himself comfortable, and nodded.

“Yes. How did it go?” Kuroo asked, looking at Oikawa.

“After you so rudely set me up to walk in on your friends getting it on,” Oikawa said, sending Kuroo an evil glare, “I found the right office and we made the plans for tomorrow.”

“Did you actually bring the leftovers from Takahiro and Issei’s visit, or were you just kidding?” Kenma said, looking up at Oikawa, seeming unaffected by the conversation they had just moments ago. Oikawa pursed his lips, looking down at the half finished cheeseburger in front of him.

“Uh,” he said, biting his lip with a small smile.

“You’re unbelievable,” Kenma just said, and Oikawa didn’t have to look at him to know that he was probably rolling his eyes at him. When Oikawa looked up, Kuroo’s eyes were on Kenma. Fascinated with him, huh? Oikawa noted down Kuroo’s _fascination_ for later, hoping to be able to use it in his plan of revenge for the Bokuto and Akaashi-incident.

“So, now you only need to do your part of the plan,” Oikawa said. Kuroo turned his attention back to him and nodded shortly. Both men smiled contemptuously at each other, and despite not having known each other for long, Oikawa felt like he was going to get along with Kuroo just well. When Kuroo’s glance fell back on Kenma, Oikawa realised that he was going to see a lot more to the man after this, and not because he wanted to hang with Oikawa. From the side, Oikawa could see Kenma bite his lip under his hair, his cheeks tinged by a soft pink blush, refusing to look up and meet the heavy gaze from his new admirer. Maybe Kuroo actually had a chance.

 

Oikawa had always been a morning person. He had always had a very specific morning routine and he didn’t mind doing a bit extra if it also made him look extra good. He had a skincare routine, hair routine, a way of doing his coffee – frothed milk, one shot of espresso, two teaspoons of sugar. Normally, when Oikawa bought clothes, he had specific outfits in his minds, so finding the right clothes in the morning wasn’t an issue. Yet, he had found himself walking in circles, stressing about choosing between two outfits for the lunch-date. He wanted to look jaw-droppingly good, but also like he just threw on some clothes and didn’t think twice about it. If he wore the second outfit, his black coat would fit better, which wasn’t really an issue, since he had checked the forecast and there seemed to be no risk of rainfall during the day.

After a morning where he spent just a bit longer than usually – if just a bit was between a half and a whole hour – Oikawa took off to the financial district in good time, finding himself at the metro station closest to Iwaizumi’s office a whole quarter before their meeting. He could go up, wait for him in the reception or ask if he could just get off from work earlier, but doing that would put all of their plans at risk _and_ there was the danger of Oikawa looking more desperate than just interested, which was a huge no-go for his approach. Instead, Oikawa went to the 7/11 near the station and browsed their magazine stands, seeing if there were any catching headlines on a magazine or newspaper. Not that he was really interested in reading anything at the time; he just needed a way to burn time.

When there were four minutes left, he left the store, thanking the cashier, who just smiled and waved goodbye, and then he walked towards the building in a slow pace, taking his time. When he went inside, the receptionist on the ground floor smiled at him, but didn’t ask him about his purpose or errand this time, simply let him walk to the elevator. When he came inside, another man in a suit eyed him suspiciously, as if he knew Oikawa didn’t work here, despite it probably being impossible to know _every_ single co-worker in the whole building. Then again, Oikawa wasn’t the type of person you’d forget about in an environment full of suits that looked pretty much like each other, and he was aware of that. He opened the black coat, revealing his navy blue V-neck in cashmere and put his hand in his pocket, clutching his phone and trying to keep himself from looking at the clock. When the elevator door opened at the 11 th floor, Oikawa walked out quickly and turned down the hall, trying to remember exactly where Iwaizumi’s office was. This time, of course, he wasn’t gonna commit the same mistake as earlier, and despite probably not being embarrassed one if the situation should arise, Oikawa wasn’t really interested in running into Bokuto or Akaashi when he was supposed to be focused on his plan.

When he finally arrived at Iwaizumi’s office, he inhaled deeply, felt the air spread all the way down to his stomach, and then he raised his hand to knock on the door. Three simple knocks and a “come in,” shortly after, and Oikawa stepped into Iwaizumi’s office, a broad smile on his face.

“Are you ready to go, Iwa-chan?” he asked, leaning onto the door. Iwaizumi wrinkled his nose, looking behind Oikawa as if to see if anyone overheard Oikawa’s use of that nickname, and then he stood up, sorting his papers into a neater stack. He threw his jacket over his shoulder and walked over, and Oikawa suddenly realised that he expected them to leave already. In lack of a better idea, Oikawa closed the door behind him in panic, smiling widely at Iwaizumi, but he was well aware that his smile didn’t look very reassuring.

“Uh,” Oikawa mumbled, scrambling for words. “About making you food,” he said. Iwaizumi stopped in his tracks on his way over there and smiled slightly.

“Yes?”

“I’d love to cook for you,” Oikawa said, smiling. Oh shit. That was definitely not a good way to hold Iwaizumi back. And Oikawa really couldn’t cook. How was he going to trick his way out of that if _he_ was the one asking for it? He bit his lip.

“That’d be nice,” Iwaizumi simply said, lifting his jacket to put it on. Once again, Oikawa said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Maybe you could come over to my place a night? And, uh, I’ll cook for you,” Oikawa said, scratching the back of his head as he laughed awkwardly, his hand still holding the door closed.

Iwaizumi squinted his eyes, obviously seeing through Oikawa’s suspicious behaviour. He looked down at the hand Oikawa still held firmly on the handle. “Sure,” Iwaizumi just said. There was a soft knock on the door, and Oikawa straightened up instantly, taking a step back from the door.

“So, let’s go to the ramen place!” Oikawa said, opening the door hastily. Iwaizumi stepped out the door, eyes still on Oikawa, and then shrugged it off, turning towards the elevator with a smile.

“You’re gonna love it! I already told you they have the best soba, but it’s _really_ great,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa nodded, smiling, looking at Iwaizumi with as much fascination as he could muster up in a conversation about noodles.

“Iwaizumi-san,” a new voice spoke. Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked up, Oikawa’s smile arrogant and his eyes aware, as he laid his eyes on Daishou Suguru, smiling at Kuroo who were smiling in the background.

“Oh, Daishou-san,” Iwaizumi said, smiling politely. Oikawa stepped closer to Iwaizumi and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Should we go, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked, keeping his tone sugar sweet and his eyes trained on Daishou Suguru, whose eyes were plastered on Oikawa’s hand, naturally lying on Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Oikawa sent him a challenging smile. Usually, especially with people like Daishou Suguru, Oikawa would’ve kept his cool, tried not to provoke the enemy, especially in situations where he was at such risk. It would take a few words for him to tell Iwaizumi that Oikawa was a sugar puppy, but Oikawa still knew that he wouldn’t – not because of some stupid honour codex between sugar puppies, but because by doing so, he would also out himself as one. Instead, Daishou Suguru did exactly as Oikawa hoped for. Walked right into his trap.

“I didn’t know you were dating,” Daishou said, his smile strained and his eyes focused on Iwaizumi, very obviously ignoring Oikawa. Iwaizumi smiled, completely oblivious of the tense air and turned to look at Oikawa.

“I am,” he simply said. “We’re going to get lunch, was there anything you needed?” Iwaizumi asked, and Daishou shook his head, anger obvious in his eyes, despite the fact that he kept his smile plastered on. Asking that question in the first place was a beginners mistake – as a sugar puppy, you weren’t supposed to act like some annoying boy- or girlfriend, demanding his attention constantly and not letting him look at others. He could get a relationship like that for free. Instead, you should be charming and fun to be around, make him unable to look at others than you. Also, by asking Iwaizumi if he was dating, he literally made it even easier for Oikawa. He actually asked Iwaizumi to approve the fact that he was going out with Oikawa, making it impossible for Daishou Suguru to really say anything about or against it now. Oikawa smiled.

“Let’s get on our way, then,” he said, and Iwaizumi nodded as a farewell to Daishou Suguru. Oikawa looked to Kuroo, who was still standing in the background, this time both arms raised with thumbs up to Oikawa. When Oikawa and Iwaizumi stepped into the elevator and the doors clothes, Oikawa exhaled in relief. “A friend of yours?” Oikawa asked Iwaizumi, as if he didn’t know. That was only the natural thing to do.

“An acquaintance. He started coming here more often,” Iwaizumi explained.

“Oh. And were you aware that he was totally trying to get in your pants?” Oikawa asked. Iwaizumi looked at him in shock over the blunt choice of words, but then nodded shortly after getting over the initial shock.

“I did,” he said, smiling. Oikawa turned his face away, unable to hold back a short giggle. The elevator stopped at the 8th floor, and when it opened, Oikawa froze, just like the two people in front of him did.

“We can take the stairs,” Akaashi Keiji, one of the two men Oikawa had walked in on under his first visit. Bokuto nodded quickly next to him, but Iwaizumi stepped to the side, making room for them.

“No, please come. It’s been long, Bokuto, Akaashi-san,” Iwaizumi greeted them, smiling broadly. Bokuto stepped in, and Akaashi followed him sceptically, keeping his eyes on Oikawa.

“Hello again,” Oikawa chirped breezily, giving them his most charming smile. Iwaizumi turned to him in surprise.

“You’ve met?” he asked, and for a second Oikawa saw the panic rise in Akaashi’s eyes.

“They helped me find your office yesterday,” Oikawa said, the lie coming out easily.

“Yes! We helped him find your office!” Bokuto said excitedly, trying to, but not succeeding in making the story more believable.

“Are you two getting lunch together?” Iwaizumi asked, and Oikawa had to bite his lip to keep from laughing when Akaashi and Bokuto looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Uh, yes?” Akaashi asked, unsure of what to say. “We’re looking over a contract while doing so,” he clarified, and Oikawa rolled his eyes, out of Iwaizumi’s view.

“You should relax too, it seems like the two of you are always off working somewhere,” Iwaizumi said, and this time Oikawa had to cover his mouth, but he was already too late, since a chuckle escaped his lips before he could hold it back.

“I think we can all agree that Iwaizumi-san is the one who should take more breaks from his work in this elevator,” Akaashi said, his smile distant and polite. And if Iwaizumi had been less dense and realised that Akaashi was trying to shut him up, he’d probably do it, because Akaashi seemed very determined, and even Oikawa didn’t want to speak up after that. Luckily, Bokuto seemed just as dense.

“Yes, Iwaizumi! Have you ever taken a vacation?” he asked, almost horrified as if he had just realised that Iwaizumi didn’t go on vacations often.

“I travel a lot with my work,” Iwaizumi said defensively, and while the two easily small talked about work, Oikawa felt Akaashi’s glare bore into him. When the elevator doors finally opened, Akaashi walked out quickly, Bokuto following him in tow. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow at them.

“Sometimes it baffles me that _Bokuto_ is the boss in that relationship,” Iwaizumi said. Once again, Oikawa bit his lip to hold back his laughter. Relationship.

 _“Not in the bedroom,”_ Oikawa mumbled under his breath as he looked after Akaashi who was directing Bokuto away, obviously not interested in keeping their conversation going.

“Did you say something?” Iwaizumi asked, and Oikawa shook his head. If they wanted to keep their… whatever they had going on a secret, then Oikawa wasn’t going to give out that information. Maybe he’d have a use for it later. Right now, the most important thing was that he had lost a competitor and that he was going on a date with Iwaizumi. Also the fact that he had to make up a plan for not cooking dinner for him, unless Oikawa actually wanted him to run away screaming. Well, that was a problem he’d have to solve later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if this was like SUPER bad, it's not my fault. i'm only accountable for "moderately" bad, sorry. (taz why the fuck are you asleep i needed your hELP)
> 
> and with this, i will go to bed. goodnight.


	7. Kiss the cook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in such a long time!  
> I had to fight my way through a terrible exam and then some bad stuff came up and I've actually been writing a bit but I'm having issues focusing. But I am going to finish and since it's my summer break now, I'll have lots of time to write stuff, which means more updates coming soon!!
> 
> It's currently 5am and the thunderstorm that has been ravaging my town is finally clearing up - to my disappointment. It was amazing, sitting in the dark at night with an open window listening to the rainfall and thunder (still audible with music in my ears) and the lightning strikes lighting up the whole sky and town and even the kitchen and it's just!!! so cool!!

Dressed in a “kiss the cook” apron that he had never put to use before that evening, Oikawa was putting out plates and trying to clean up the apartment, slightly anxious for Iwaizumi’s arrival. It was a quarter past seven, and the place was already way cleaner than it had been in years, not that Oikawa or Kenma were messy at all. Yet, he wanted to make a good impression and while Iwaizumi probably didn’t expect Oikawa’s place to be as big or well furbished as his own, Oikawa still couldn’t help but feel nervous. The last time he was in an actual relationship and had invited someone _home_ he did not have a roommate, and while he hadn’t exactly been uncertain about inviting a lover home, he hadn’t felt the need to do so at all. But Iwaizumi was new and different and Oikawa knew he wasn’t going to judge him for sharing a flat – living in the city was expensive and everyone knew that. At least he had a room to himself, and even better, Kenma was out for the evening. Of course, Oikawa was going to let Kenma and Iwaizumi meet, but tonight was their night, not to be disturbed by any intruders. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he picked it up quickly after it had rung once, already knowing that it was Matsukawa.

“So, how’s it going with the food? Oikawa asked, sitting on the armrest of his couch.

“Bad news,” Hanamaki said in the other end, and Oikawa could hear Mattsun’s voice in the background saying something incomprehensible. Oikawa sat up straight, listening more intently.

“What?” he asked, cautiously.

“Traffic is bad, we’re gonna be a bit late,” Makki said, his voice uncommonly serious.

“I don’t understand,” Oikawa said, standing up.

“Traffic. As in, we’re stuck. In our car. In the middle of the road. Between other cars,” Makki said, adding new descriptions as if Oikawa seriously didn’t understand.

“Yeah, I get that,” Oikawa said, rolling his eyes despite his friend not being able to see through the phone. “It’s okay, Iwa-chan won’t be here until seven thirty, you can make it before that, right?” Oikawa asked, hopefully.

“Well,” Makki began, dragging out the word instead of finishing the sentence.

“Right?” Oikawa asked, his voice rising an octave.

“We’ll try,” Makki said, sounding uncertain. Mattsun said something to him in the car, but Oikawa wasn’t able to hear what. “You should try to make up a plan b, though,” Makki said. Oikawa let a defeated sigh slip from his lips. “I’ll call when I know more,” his friend said apologetically.

“Hurry, please,” he said, before his friend ended the call.

Oikawa walked to the kitchen and opened his fridge, trying to look for a plan b like they had recommended. He had two bottles of the white wine with a cherry tree branch decorating the bottle that he preferred and not at all enough food to make an edible meal. He knew Kenma had frozen pizzas in the freezer, but he couldn’t really serve that to Iwaizumi when he was supposed to give him a home-cooked meal. Oikawa sighed. This date was going to be a failure. He’d lose Iwaizumi despite having worked _so_ hard to get to this point. He hadn’t even gotten anything expensive worth all his work, and he actually liked the man. Leaning up the fridge, he slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor. He was so pathetic.

The doorbell buzzed, and Oikawa quickly stood up, running to the hallway to open the door. Grabbing the door phone, he exhaled in relief.

“Mattsun?” he asked, realising that it could be Iwaizumi. He hadn’t checked the time in a while.

“Did you forget our date, or do you have several men coming over?” Iwaizumi asked on the other end of the line, and despite his slight panic, Oikawa laughed at Iwaizumi’s train of thought.

“Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you about my two other boyfriends,” he joked, buzzing Iwaizumi in and putting the door phone back in it’s holder when he heard the door open downstairs. Oh, shit. He had just said _other_ boyfriends, as if he actually saw Iwaizumi as that. Shit. Fuck. He hid his face in his hands, but looked up in shock when there was a slight knock on the door. He opened it, forcing up his most carefree smile, hoping that it looked less like a grimace than it felt.

“You okay?” Iwaizumi asked, frowning. Oikawa nodded quickly. There was something sweet about Iwaizumi being able to distinguish between Oikawa’s real and fake smiles, but it also kind of sucked.

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” Oikawa said, this time making his smile more natural. Iwaizumi let it slide as he took off his shoes, looking around the apartment. Oikawa led him into the living room first, feeling himself relax a bit more. Iwaizumi wasn’t going to chew him out just because he didn’t have food ready yet. He could still fix this.

“You said you didn’t live alone?” Iwaizumi said, still looking around curiously with a smile. Oikawa nodded.

“He’s not home,” Oikawa replied, glancing at the kitchen door nervously.

“So,” Iwaizumi said again, turning to Oikawa.

“So…” Oikawa said, biting his lip and looking down.

“Just tell me what’s wrong so we can get it over with,” Iwaizumi said, impatiently, already having seen through Oikawa’s act. Yup, Iwaizumi being able to read him definitely sucked.

“Um,” Oikawa began, looking for words, but no believable lie came to his mind. He inhaled, building courage, and Iwaizumi lifted an eyebrow, waiting. “I can’t cook,” he quickly said, letting out his breath while doing so. Iwaizumi’s eyes fell to the apron that Oikawa had forgotten he was wearing.

“I figured,” Iwaizumi said, _not_ looking like he was about to dump Oikawa on his ass and leave him alone and foodless in his apartment, instead smiling at him almost fondly.

“You figured?” Oikawa asked, his voice small.

“I mean, I had a feeling,” Iwaizumi clarified, shrugging.

“Oh,” was Oikawa’s eloquent answer. How could Iwaizumi just accept it so easily? Oikawa knew Iwaizumi wasn’t interested in him because of his cooking, but still. Was he okay with Oikawa casually lying? “I’m such a failure,” Oikawa said, frowning. He theatrically put his hand on his chest, covering the ‘kiss the cook’ print.

“It’s okay, let’s see what you got,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa opened his mouth in shock, about to ask Iwaizumi to elaborate, when the other man walked past him into the kitchen. Iwaizumi walked straight over and opened the fridge, probably having the same thought as Oikawa had earlier, to see if there was any food. Oikawa hid his face in embarrassment when Iwaizumi laid his eyes on the embarrassingly empty fridge. There were two energy drinks too, but those were Kenma’s, and honestly Oikawa found them more embarrassing than his sakura wine. Iwaizumi didn’t comment on the red bulls, but he reached out to turn around a bowl of cup noodles to see the label. It was covered by tinfoil, since Kenma was too lazy to finish it the day before. “Are those… instant ramen leftovers?” Iwaizumi asked in disbelief. Oikawa did a short nod. “You can’t save those,” Iwaizumi said, shaking his head and closing the fridge slowly. Okay, he was definitely judging Oikawa now.

“So, what now?” Oikawa asked, obviously already giving up.

“Is there a supermarket nearby?” Iwaizumi asked, and Oikawa’s ears perched instantly. Damn him for reacting so strongly to every single chance of going shopping.

“Yes?” He asked, hopefully.

“Let’s go buy something so we can cook dinner, then,” Iwaizumi said, smiling, as he walked back to the hallway.

“Wait, you, uh, you don’t understand,” Oikawa said, following Iwaizumi, less sure in his steps. Iwaizumi looked up curiously, waiting for Oikawa to elaborate. “I can’t cook,” Oikawa said, silently damning Iwaizumi for making him repeat himself. “Like, at all,”

“Good thing that both of us aren’t completely useless,” Iwaizumi then said, smiling, as he put on his shoes. Oikawa chuckled as he got ready himself, focusing on his shoes so Iwaizumi wouldn’t notice the slight blush in his cheeks. He had been even luckier with his choice of going after Iwaizumi than he had thought – rich, attractive _and_ a good cook. Oikawa smiled to himself as he put on his jacket.

 

When they walked inside the supermarket, Oikawa instantly walked over and picked a shopping cart instead of a basket, already planning on making Iwaizumi pay for more than just tonight’s dinner. Iwaizumi didn’t comment on it, but followed Oikawa inside, commenting on the food and asking Oikawa what food he was in the mood for.

It was obvious that Iwaizumi knew about cooking, at least from Oikawa’s point of view, but having no cooking knowledge whatsoever, he might have been slightly biased. Yet, he found it a bit sexy how Iwaizumi was sort of discussing what to make with himself and explaining the importance of a good dashi to Oikawa, seeming satisfied with Oikawa’s “hmm,”s and one word-answers. Oikawa put two boxes of his favourite sakura wine in the cart and considered going for a more expensive one, but he was scared of choosing one that he didn’t really like.

“Sake would be better for the meal,” Iwaizumi said when Oikawa put the second box of wine in the cart, before turning to the sake selection and picking one out.

“I needed to stock up on wine anyways,” Oikawa said, wondering if Iwaizumi would take that as Oikawa not wanting him to pay. He couldn’t. Of course not. Iwaizumi picked a more expensive sake, but not the most expensive one, reading the label and, after approving, he put it in the cart.

When the cashier was checking out their goods, Oikawa clapped his jeans pockets and turned to Iwaizumi, making his smile as innocent as possible.

“Oops, I forgot my wallet,” he said, just to be sure if Iwaizumi actually expected him to pay.

“No problem,” Iwaizumi said, digging his own out of his jacket pocket and putting his card in the cart reader, entering his pin. Oikawa felt his shoulders relax, and he hadn’t even realised that he had tensed up before he had seen Iwaizumi pay, afterwards he felt a rush of happiness from the accomplishment, and he smiled broadly when packing the food into bags. “Stop smiling like a fool,” Iwaizumi said and grabbed the bags from Oikawa, walking out the door. Oikawa followed him in tow, still smiling broadly.

“I’m just happy Iwa-chan is cooking for me!” he said, walking up next to him, just close enough for their shoulders to graze.

 

After finally returning to the apartment, Iwaizumi immediately started cooking, and Oikawa joined him, sitting on the countertop and pointing at the right cupboard or drawer whenever Iwaizumi couldn’t find something he needed. They had opened a bottle of wine, waiting with the sake for the actual dinner. Iwaizumi told Oikawa to get the plates out, since the food was almost ready, but was interrupted by the sound of the door phone buzzing. The sound broke their casual conversation, both of them stopping in their tracks to stare towards the sound coming from the hallway.

“Shit,” Oikawa mumbled, making no sign of actually letting in whoever rang the door; because he knew who it were. How could he forget?

“Uh,” Iwaizumi said, looking towards the door. “So you weren’t kidding about your two other boyfriends?” Iwaizumi said. Oikawa stared, unsure of what to do. How did Iwaizumi know there were two of them? Why did he think they were dating? Iwaizumi laughed as he saw Oikawa’s horrified expression. “You joked about having two boyfriends before…” he explained, and Oikawa let out a relieved sigh. “… You were kidding, right?” Iwaizumi said, his tone still playful but his eyes wary.

“Of course!” Oikawa said quickly, finally moving towards the door when he heard a second ring. “It’s probably just a salesman, I’ll tell them to leave,” he said, running towards the door and opening, well aware that Mattsun had an extra key and that they were probably already halfway up the stairs. Just as he opened the door, they came into view, waving at him.

“How’s the cook doing–“ Makki began, but Oikawa stepped out the door, cutting him off with a wheeze.

“You need to leave!” he said, and both men stopped, halfway up the last stairs. Then he heard someone clearing his throat behind him. The only ‘someone’ that could be was…

“Hey,” Iwaizumi said, looking at Mattsun and Makki. Both men continued up the stairs, lazy smiles on their lips.

“Well, hello,” Mattsun said, giving Iwaizumi a not-so-subtle onceover.

“You didn’t tell us he was this handsome,” Makki said as he joined Mattsun in front of the door, swinging an arm lazily around his boyfriend’s shoulder. Oikawa moped at his friends, too scared to look at Iwaizumi.

“So, these are the boyfriends you mentioned?”

“No! I mean, they’re, uh, boyfriends. But not my boyfriends,” Oikawa said, combing his hand through his hair frustratedly.

“I can’t believe you’re lying about us, your faithful boyfriends,” Mattsun joked, smiling at Iwaizumi who just chuckled. Then Mattsun looked behind both Oikawa and Iwaizumi into the apartment after sniffing the air. “What’s that smell?” he asked, intrigued.

“Are you trying to kill him with your cooking?” Makki added, looking at Oikawa with false worry.

“No, it doesn’t smell burned, it can’t be Oikawa,” Mattsun said, and Oikawa frowned, sticking out his tongue. Iwaizumi laughed, a deep rumble, and Oikawa stuck out his tongue.

“Well, then we hurried over for nothing,” Makki said, motioning at the white paper bag Mattsun was holding. Iwaizumi eyed the bag, and Oikawa stared at him nervously, watching his features change into understanding. Time seemed to stop for a moment as Oikawa awaited his anger, confusion, maybe even disgust after realizing that Oikawa had planned on serving him food made by his friend and say it was his own.

Iwaizumi laughed out loud, big and hearty, going as far as to put a hand on his stomach. Both Mattsun and Makki followed suit and after a while, even Oikawa couldn’t help but laugh at the hopelessness of the situation.

“You made your friend cook for you?” Iwaizumi asked, pulling Oikawa to the side to let the other men in.

“Well, ye-, wait, don’t let them come in, they’re about to leave!” Oikawa said, regaining his balance after being pulled away by Iwaizumi, staring at his friends to make them do as he said.

“You’re not inviting us inside?” Makki said, smiling mischievously at Oikawa.

“I am not,” he said, walking over to close the door, but they both stepped inside, stopping that from happening, and Mattsun reached his hand out for Iwaizumi to shake it.

“I’m Matsukawa Issei, chef in training and one of Oikawa’s only two friends,”

“Hey!” Oikawa said, offended, as Iwaizumi laughed, shaking Matsukawa’s hand.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” He said, reaching out to take Makki’s hand afterwards.

“We know,” Makki said, smiling at Oikawa again, before turning his attention to Iwaizumi. “I’m Hanamaki Takahiro.”

“There’s not enough food for all of us,” Oikawa said stubbornly, staring at his friends who completely ignored his attempts at trying to throw them out.

“I made more than enough, I assumed you wanted more for the next days since you didn’t have anything edible in your kitchen,” Iwaizumi said, his smile slowly turning into the same sneaky grin as Oikawa’s two friends.

Oikawa squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and then put on his bright smile, clasping his hands together. “Sure, okay!” he said, keeping his voice chirpy. “But no embarrassing stories,” he said, walking into the living room, not waiting for Mattsun and Makki who were still taking off their shoes and outerwear.

“What a great idea, I’d love to hear some stories,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa could hear both Makki and Mattsun snicker.

“You _need_ to hear about the time Oikawa came to class, clothes hanger still sticking out the neck in the back of his shirt,” Matsukawa laughed, his voice deep like Iwaizumi’s, but relaxed and not as rough.

“Mattsun, I was studying for exams that week, I had been doing all nighters two days in a row!” Oikawa whined defensively.

“Everyone was tired, Tooru, but we could still put on our clothes properly,” Makki said, sitting down at the dining table, making himself comfortable as if he owned the place – they had been over enough times to do so already. Mattsun followed Iwaizumi into the kitchen, picking up chopsticks and bowls for more food.

“You got anything to drink?” Mattsun asked Iwaizumi in the kitchen, and Oikawa walked in there quickly, not trusting his friend alone in a room with his potential sponsor… or boyfriend. Or sugar daddy. The title didn’t matter, as long as he got paid, and honestly spending time with Iwaizumi didn’t even feel like an obligation, but rather something he enjoyed.

When he came in, Matsukawa stood leaned in over the pot, curiously sniffing the steam rising from it, shooting Iwaizumi a look of awe.

“I didn’t think businessmen knew how to cook,” he said, grabbing for a spoon, but realizing mid-motion that it would probably be a bit rude to just eat straight out of the pot when he barely even knew Iwaizumi. Chef customs, Oikawa assumed. Iwaizumi nodded to Mattsun though, and the other man dove in with the spoon, tasting the food and humming approvingly. “Where did you learn to cook like this?” Mattsun asked, and Iwaizumi shrugged shyly, looking anywhere but at the man complimenting him, a slight blush on his cheek.

“My nanny taught me…” He mumbled, and Mattsun just nodded, taking that as an answer.

Oikawa grabbed the sake from the fridge and two more glasses for his friends, walking into the living room to join Makki, who had his phone out. Soon after, Iwaizumi and Matsukawa came in with the dinner, and they all started eating, Oikawa’s two best friends bearing the conversation with Iwaizumi easily, to Oikawa’s horror. Iwaizumi seemed to get along with them even better than Oikawa, joining in on their teasing, but still calling them out on their bullshit, keeping true to his nature, which was infuriatingly annoying and so damn _cute_.

“So you work at a Michelin restaurant?” Iwaizumi asked Mattsun, impressed. Matsukawa nodded, probably the second worst at accepting compliments at the table – then again, both Makki and Oikawa had an extremely boastful humour and personality in general.

“I’m only an apprentice,” Matsukawa said, taking another sip of his sake.

“I assume you were the one who secured Oikawa the table?” Iwaizumi said, smiling knowingly at Oikawa, who laughed nervously. He had played it off at the date, keeping Iwaizumi in the dark about his ‘contact’ as a way to stay mysterious.

“I am,” Matsukawa said, looking at Oikawa with a lifted eyebrow.

“Oikawa is the type of person who abuses all of his friends’ abilities,” Makki added jokingly, smiling broadly at Iwaizumi, who lifted an eyebrow.

“I see it more as being able to make full use of others’ abilities,” Oikawa said, looking away with a pout, acting offended about his friend’s words.

“Like I said, abuse of power,” Makki said and Oikawa turned to him with a frown, still sticking his lower lip out in a pout.

While Oikawa’s friends were conversing with Iwaizumi, already joking as if they were old friends, Oikawa was deep in thought about the new information given out that night – Iwaizumi now knew that Oikawa didn’t have some fancy, powerful contact to give him what he wanted, which wasn’t really a problem, since it’d probably only make Iwaizumi feel a bigger need to help support him financially, hopefully. Also, Iwaizumi was an amazing cook, even complimented by an actual chef, and he had been sparse with the information, simply saying that it was a _nanny_.

Oikawa knew enough about social structures to know that most people with full-time nannies were wealthy, but that bit of information about Iwaizumi’s family wasn’t really a surprise to Oikawa, but rather just an approval of his initial guess.

But Iwaizumi having had a nanny that took care of him often enough to teach him how to cook for himself could give Oikawa some clues to what kind of childhood he had. Were his parents distant? Did he have an estranged relationship with his parents and could it have anything to do with his opposition to pay for Oikawa?

“Pour a bucket of cold water over him and he’ll come back to reality, he tends to dose off,” Matsukawa’s amused voice pulled Oikawa out of his train of thoughts, and he looked up quickly.

“Some of us have work early tomorrow, so we have to go,” Makki said to Oikawa, when he had finally woken up from his contemplation, and he nodded slowly, turning to Iwaizumi.

“Are you leaving me too, when we finally have a chance to be alone, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa said, batting his eyelashes. Iwaizumi opened his mouth, and then he turned to look at Oikawa’s friends, who were already standing up, getting ready to leave.

“Now’s your chance to run,” Makki said to Iwaizumi, laughing when Oikawa threw his napkin after him, but the paper limply fell to the floor.

The boyfriends said their goodbye to both Oikawa and Iwaizumi, Matsukawa adding a comment about his food to Iwaizumi – apparently he had placed the paper bag in the kitchen and he seemed to be more interested in making Iwaizumi taste it than to let Oikawa in on any information. Makki gave Oikawa a knowing look before both men finally left the apartment, and when Oikawa could _finally_ close the door, the whole room was left in silence, but it was broken by Oikawa’s relieved sigh.

“I am _so_ sorry,” Oikawa began, lifting his hands, but Iwaizumi brushed it off, walking over to Oikawa.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind meeting your friends – you met mine already,” Iwaizumi added, smiling patiently. Oikawa wanted to kiss him on the spot.

“But the whole food situation and the lack of sake and their terrible humour,” Oikawa blabbered, shooting a glance at Iwaizumi, “I swear I’m not that bad, by the way” he added. Iwaizumi laughed.

“Their jokes are better than yours, you idiot,” Iwaizumi said, smacking Oikawa’s shoulder and Oikawa winced at the hit, even though it wasn’t painful, pouting dramatically.

“Ouch, Iwa-chan!” he said as he walked into the kitchen, Iwaizumi right behind him. “So, should we open a bottle of wine, or-“ he said, but stopped when he felt Iwaizumi’s arms around his hips. Iwaizumi rested his chin on Oikawa’s shoulder and breathed in, hugging him from behind.

“You’re right, we didn’t actually get to be alone before now,” Iwaizumi mumbled and Oikawa chuckled, remembering that they actually _had_ emptied that bottle of sake – and two bottles of wine if he counted in the one Iwaizumi and he had opened before Matsukawa and Hanamaki came by. Oikawa turned around; placing his arms on Iwaizumi’s shoulders and enjoying the slight height difference as he leaned in and let his lips brush Iwaizumi’s.

He was supposed to follow plans and according to his plans, he wasn’t supposed to go to second base yet, given Iwaizumi’s reluctance about paying, which had set him back. Yet, standing in the kitchen, kissing Iwaizumi softly and enjoying the taste of curry and Oikawa’s favourite wine on Iwaizumi’s lips, Oikawa actually wanted to take the next step. He wanted _more._

“You know, if you want to stay for the night…” Oikawa offered, when their lips finally parted for breath.

“I have an early meeting tomorrow,” Iwaizumi muttered. Oikawa pulled back, furrowing his brows.

What?

Did Iwaizumi just… say no to staying over? To having sex? “What?” Oikawa didn’t know what else to say.

“Rain check on Friday?” Iwaizumi said, smiling apologetically, probably realizing that Oikawa was pulling back even further.

“You’re turning me down because of work?” Oikawa said, trying to sound less offended and more nonchalant. He didn’t succeed.

“I told you I had an important meeting when you asked me,” Iwaizumi said, lifting an eyebrow. He wasn’t even lying – Oikawa had actually picked that exact date _because_ Iwaizumi had plans the next day. But Oikawa had been weak for a second, let his desires distract him from the actual goal.

“Of course!” Oikawa said, his voice an octave higher than he had aimed for. “Always such a hardworking man, Iwa-chan!” he laughed, playfully dashing Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Iwaizumi lifted an eyebrow, unsure of how to take Oikawa’s change of heart.

“Yeah… I really did enjoy the night, despite the turn of events,” Iwaizumi said. Oikawa laughed. Iwaizumi had expected a night alone with him, eating Oikawa’s food, not cooking for both him and his two useless friends.

“Friday, you said?” Oikawa asked, trying to change the subject. Iwaizumi obviously realised his intent, but for once he let Oikawa have his way.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding.

“Since Iwa-chan is leaving me alone with the cleaning now, you have to take me to the next place and I want fancy food,” Oikawa said, giving his most disarming smile. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, Oikawa’s charm lost on him.

“You can’t eat dinner at a normal place?” Iwaizumi said, questioning Oikawa’s expensive tastes.

“No! The great Oikawa-san needs a place just as glamorous to satisfy my needs,” Oikawa bragged, obviously joking, as he flipped his bangs out of his face. Iwaizumi just stared at him, Oikawa’s amazing humour obviously lost on such a dense man. “There’s no discussion,” Oikawa added, before Iwaizumi called him a dumbass or idiot again.

 

Shortly after Iwaizumi had left, Kenma came home while Oikawa was watching TV, having ditched the cleaning for the time being. But when Kenma came home, he walked over and stopped right in front of the TV, arms crossed as he was staring at Oikawa, obviously wanting something from him.

“How was your, uh, night out?” Oikawa asked warily, glancing quickly at the dining table, still covered with plates and glasses and empty bottles after the dinner party, which Oikawa had done nothing to clean up after.

“I told you I wasn’t interested in getting mixed up with your weird acquaintances,” Kenma said, keeping his voice calm, but Oikawa could see that he was annoyed.

“What happened?” Oikawa asked, regarding the smaller man attentively.

“Kuroo Tetsurou happened,” Kenma said, sitting down on the sofa next to Oikawa and turning his attention to the TV. Oikawa turned his whole body towards Kenma, who was acting like those words were enough explanation, staring at the television as if that was the end of the conversation. Of course, Oikawa was not having that.

“Kuroo Tetsurou?” Oikawa asked, but Kenma didn’t answer. “As in the tall, messy haired man that kept ogling you while he was here?” Oikawa asked, adding the last part to rile up his roommate, and Kenma snapped his head towards him, unable to keep nonchalant after those words. Oikawa smiled.

“Yes, as in the man _you_ invited over here. I have nothing to do with him,” Kenma said.

“I can’t help if he’s taken a liking to you,” Oikawa said, lifting his arms defensively in front of him, but smiling broadly. “He asked you out?” Oikawa asked curiously, leaning in as the gossip-thirsty part of him awakened from its slumber.

“Yeah, he wanted me to join him for that fancy charity gala on Saturday,” Kenma said. He looked up at Oikawa, who lifted his eyebrow in confusion. Charity gala? “Kuroo said that Iwaizumi was probably going to ask you as well,” Kenma elaborated, squinting his eyes at Oikawa, obviously trying to read his reaction. Oikawa opened his mouth, and then closed it again, turning his face to the TV, doing everything in his power not to look gloomy. “He didn’t invite you?” Kenma asked, his voice suddenly changing to something sounding like amusement. Oikawa bit his lip, but didn’t answer, well aware that Kenma had already concluded that from his deductions.

That was one of the worst parts about living with someone who was as good at reading others at himself. He couldn’t keep his embarrassments a secret. But Kenma knowing about Oikawa’s issues wasn’t the _real_ problem. The real problem was that Iwaizumi hadn’t invited Oikawa to the charity gala when even Kuroo Tetsurou had invited Kenma, who hadn’t even wanted to go.

And it was Saturday, already. That meant Oikawa had to win Iwaizumi over on Friday and _make_ him invite Oikawa to the charity as well. Oikawa bit his lip, already planning out the details of his scheme in his mind, absentmindedly staring at the TV, his roommate quiet by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, not much happened in this chapter, bc honestly this chapter wasn't really part of my original plan. XD but I liked the idea of Oikawa wanting to cook something for Iwaizumi and failing, not that it really happened how I liked it to.  
> But finally, I'm onto the story I've been excited to write!!! The charity gala and!! yaaah. 
> 
> Also, after getting to know more fanfic writers and talking about the writing process and stuff, it's come to attention that my story is actually... super terrible and unedited. Like, honestly, I'm not even used to reading the story through for typos or something, let alone doing any actual editing. I will try and learn that from now on, though, and I hope you'll bear over with me meanwhile!


	8. Good things come for those who wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa is excited for their date Friday night, but things don't always go according to plan. Luckily, Oikawa is good at taking use of what's handed to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for being so bad at updating, I've been reading a lot at the moment and ... yeah. 
> 
> There's a reason the story is rated M, and this chapter has some action in it. Just so you're warned. :P 
> 
> By the way, I wrote all of it except the first half page tonight. And like, I started at 2am. It's 6am. I haven't even skimmed it for typos, and I sincerely apologise if it's terrible. I'll try and fix it tomorrow. XD

After the date, Oikawa let himself message Iwaizumi more often, ignoring his earlier restrictions, his wish to get invited to the charity gala weighing more than keeping Iwaizumi thinking that he was busy.

Oikawa had spent more time with Kenma, forcing every imaginable detail out of his scared smaller friend, who seemed less and less willing to spend time with him after the interrogation. But that Wednesday, while Oikawa was watching TV – another random documentary, this time about a plane crash – Kenma came into the living room and sat next to him, watching him in silence. For about a minute, Oikawa ignored Kenma, wanting his friend to just get over himself and tell Oikawa what he wanted, but his curiosity won him over this time and he turned to look at Kenma annoyed.

“What is it?” He asked, giving Kenma a normal, bright smile. Kenma just started at him, well aware that it wasn’t sincere, and then took his phone out of his pocket out of habit – Kenma had always preferred having something to look at while speaking with others, and Oikawa honestly didn’t mind – those golden eyes missed none of his lies and it freaked Oikawa out.

“Yaku is coming over and he wants to talk to you,” Kenma said, seemingly uninterested. Of course, Oikawa knew better. He already knew from Kenma’s tone that he was definitely in trouble with Yaku Morisuke – and even though the man barely reached Oikawa’s shoulder in height, he was still pretty terrifying when he got mad. Kenma acted like he wasn’t at all interested in the scene that was gonna play down in front of him, but Oikawa knew he secretly wanted to watch his friend get his ass kicked by his other friend.

“Do you know _why_ he wants to talk to me?” Oikawa asked, lifting an eyebrow as he looked Kenma in the eyes. The corners of Kenma’s mouth curved slightly into a little smirk, and he turned his attention back to his telephone.

“Yes,” he simply said, not looking up from his phone this time.

“Are you going to tell me why?” Oikawa asked slowly, as if Kenma didn’t understand and had to have it all laid out in front of him before opening his mouth willingly.

But Kenma was also playing that game, a slight smile still on his lips as he looked down at his phone, the blue colour on the screen reflecting in his eyes as he refused to look up at Oikawa and simply answered “Nope.” Oikawa was about to argument, but was cut off by the sound of the door phone buzzing, raising awareness to Yaku’s arrival. Oikawa stood up with an unsatisfied grunt, realising that he had to meet his friend straight on, still unaware of why he even wanted to talk.

When Oikawa opened the door, Yaku didn’t bother with a greeting, instead bowing down, easily walking under Oikawa’s arm, which was leaned up against the doorframe in a futile attempt at holding Yaku outside. Not that Oikawa had expected it to work – Yaku was never one to give up easily.

“Well, hello to you too, Yaku-chan,” Oikawa said, keeping his voice unconcerned and playful. When he met Yaku at first, he had tried calling him Mori-chan, but, like Kenma, he wasn’t that happy with his nickname, and Oikawa quickly realised that it would be easier to stay in his good side if he simplified the nickname to something he could live with. Yaku had ended up accepting the ‘-chan’ after a little while. But not today.

“Don’t call me chan, we’re not friends,” Yaku said. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow, shifting his posture after closing the door, crossing his arms as he leaned up against it.

“What did I do?” he asked innocently, worrying which of his schemes Yaku had figured out.

“Haiba Lev,” Yaku simply said, but after just two meetings with the tall Russian, Oikawa didn’t need further explanation.

“Oh,” Oikawa said, realisation obvious in his tone.

“Yeah,” Yaku said, sighing as he took off his jacket after taking his shoes off.

“What did he do?” Oikawa asked, unsure of whether or not he should play the sympathetic card or tease him.

“He’s been, uh, courting me for over a week now,” Yaku said, scrunching his nose. Oikawa smirked. Courting? The wording made him even more curious, because Yaku normally kept his language casual and Oikawa knew it was intentional.

“Is that a bad thing?” he asked, still smiling. Yaku walked right into the room and sat on the sofa next to Kenma, greeting him in a way friendlier manner than Oikawa – where Oikawa had sat just a few moments before – and when Oikawa opened his mouth to protest, Yaku seemed to finally remember the question.

“I can survive flowers and something bordering to stalkerish behaviour – he actually asked me permission to come again the first time he met me at my work, but I’m not sure if he’s aware that I can’t really tell a customer to leave,” Yaku began, leaning back into the couch and sighing in frustration. Oikawa realised his little summary of the last week was far from over, when Yaku opened his mouth again. “I even said yes to that stupid charity thing to shut him up, but then today happened,” he said, looking to Kenma, who nodded sympathetically, obviously already having been filled in on what ‘today’ meant. But that wasn’t really what Oikawa focused on.

“Wait, _you_ got invited to the charity gala as well?” he asked, trying not to sound offended. He didn’t succeed.

“Yes,” Yaku said, his expression turning slightly smug when he saw Oikawa’s annoyance. “Didn’t you?” He asked, nonchalantly and Oikawa crossed his arms.

“I haven’t seen Iwa-chan since I found out about it’s existence, he’s probably going to ask me too,” Oikawa said, sounding way more sure than he felt. He really didn’t want to air any insecurities about his relationship to Iwaizumi, especially not to two people who had both gotten asked out by other rich men because of _him._ Why was Oikawa so unlucky? Had he picked wrong? He tried to imagine having chosen Kuroo or even Haiba Lev instead of Iwaizumi, but shuttered at the thought, quickly pushing it away. Iwaizumi was the right choice. He looked up at Yaku who was eyeing him curiously and came to the conclusion that he had to change the subject quickly if he didn’t want to have that conversation. “What happened to you today?” he asked, a bit too quickly, but Yaku took the bait – or maybe he just wasn’t as keen on having the conversation as Oikawa had feared. Oikawa was just relieved that Yaku was back to focusing on his own issues and not laying Oikawa’s problems out in the open.

“So, as I said, he came over today while I was at work,” Yaku began explaining, looking at the wall as if he was imagining the scene in front of him. “He has those stupid security guards with him everywhere, so he attracts attention constantly,” said Yaku, rolling his eyes, obviously annoyed by it. Oikawa was well aware that Yaku preferred not having all of the attention directed at him – unlike Oikawa, who enjoyed being in the spotlight. He realised that Iwaizumi was probably more like Yaku in that sense, which didn’t really bother him.

“And?” Oikawa asked, licking his lips, deep in thought. Yaku looked up at him with an annoyed expression, obviously not happy about Oikawa rushing him while he was telling the story.

“And he came in with a whole clothes rail full of suits for me,” Yaku said, hiding his face in his hand, obviously still embarrassed. Oikawa’s mouth flew open as he gaped at him, quickly reaching over and forcing Yaku’s hands away from his face.

“Don’t you dare get mad about that kind of stuff!” Oikawa said, not even caring about how shrill his voice got.

“I’m not like you, I don’t want him to spend money on me!” Yaku said, breaking free from Oikawa’s grip easily, since Oikawa didn’t hold him that hard anyway. Oikawa rolled his eyes.

“I’m not gonna sit here and feel sorry for you when _that_ is your biggest issue,” Oikawa said, leaning back in the sofa and sighing hopelessly. Yaku lifted an eyebrow, looking at Kenma who sent him a knowing look and then turned his attention back to his phone.

“Okay…” said Yaku, looking at Oikawa, probably considering whether or not he should ask Oikawa. Oikawa sniffed theatrically, trying to look as sad and pathetic as possible, as if he was crying, and put his hand to his chest. “… What’s your biggest issue, then?” Yaku asked, his voice doubtful and quiet, as if he was still unsure if he should ask Oikawa, probably not interested in hearing Oikawa complain about his issues. Oikawa didn’t really care though, he was tired of spending his time with his two ungrateful friends who were apparently already getting spoiled by their rich admirers.

 

Oikawa felt a bit better after complaining to his friends for a while, and he even got to blow off some steam from his excitement and nerves about his date with Iwaizumi on Friday, but his happiness didn’t last long, because that same night, Iwaizumi called him.

“This is Oikawa Tooru at your service,” Oikawa said chirpily.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi simply said on the other end of the line, voice tired. Oikawa looked at his watch – eight thirty in the evening. Iwaizumi was probably at home just relaxing. Had he thought of Oikawa in his free time? The thought make Oikawa smile.

“Yes?” Oikawa asked, still in a good mood and even hopeful enough to imagine that Iwaizumi was going to actually tell him that he called to hear his voice or because he missed him or for some other cute reason.

“I have to cancel our plans on Friday,” Iwaizumi said apologetically into the phone, and even though Oikawa could hear Iwaizumi’s frustration, he still stalled in what he was doing, anger instantly rising in his chest.

“What?” He asked, hoping that he had heard wrong.

“I’m still at work and my boss had to call in for a last minute meeting, I’m so sorry,” Iwaizumi said, sounding more and more apologetic as he explained why. Oikawa did understand the reasoning, but it didn’t make him feel less rejected or sad.

“So… we’re not gonna be together on Friday?” Oikawa asked. He could hear Iwaizumi take a deep breath on the other end of the line. Okay. Oikawa could live with that. He had a good reason – if Iwaizumi was still at his office, there was obviously a lot of work to do for him, and Oikawa was aware that this was part of the side effects of dating a businessman.

And then an idea struck Oikawa. “What about Saturday?” he asked, before Iwaizumi could answer him.

“Uh,” Iwaizumi said, doing something on the other end of the line, hopefully looking for his calendar. Oikawa smiled, not a happy smile but a smug one, hoping that this tragedy could at least bring something good with it. “I have an event Saturday,” Iwaizumi said. Oikawa’s smile broadened as Iwaizumi continued. “Would you mind accompanying me for a charity dinner?” Iwaizumi asked. Oikawa lifted his fist in victory, chuckling at the success of his plan.

“I’d love to,” he said, keeping his voice cool despite his excitement.

“Events like these are normally super boring, just so you’re warned,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa rolled his eyes. Of course a practical man like Iwaizumi would think so – for Oikawa, networking events were exciting, and especially ones where he was surrounded by rich, successful people.

“Not when you’re in my company,” Oikawa said, smiling as he heard Iwaizumi’s laughter in his phone. “What’s the dress code?” he asked, already standing up and walking into his room to look in his closet – not that he was gonna wear an outfit of he already owned, he was _definitely_ going to use this as an excuse for Iwaizumi to buy him clothes.

“Suit and tie,” Iwaizumi said, once again fumbling with papers on the other end of the line, probably trying to find the invitation. “Evening wear,” he said and it sounded like he was reading it out loud.

“Perfect,” Oikawa said, looking through his shirts. “I might have to go look for a new suit, though,” he said.

“The one you wore at the restaurant was fine,” Iwaizumi said as Oikawa repositioned his phone from his hand between his cheek and shoulder so he could use both hands while going through his closet. He rolled his eyes at the comment. “That was casualwear,” he simply said. Iwaizumi should be aware that someone as fashion-aware as Oikawa couldn’t just… wear the same suit for restaurants and _galas_.

“I need a new suit,” Oikawa just said again, taking out a hanger with a shirt that he liked, wondering if he should try and get Iwaizumi to pay for a new one of those as well or just use one that he already had.

“You already looked great in that one,” Iwaizumi said again and Oikawa bit his lip, hanging the shirt back on the clothes rack before falling back onto his bed.

“Iwa-chan, don’t try to talk me out of it with sweet words!” Oikawa chirped, pouting despite the fact that Iwaizumi couldn’t even see it. _Oikawa_ was supposed to be the one using those kinds of tricks, not Iwaizumi. And even worse, cheap tricks like that weren’t supposed to work on Oikawa, they weren’t supposed to actually make him blush like a schoolgirl even though it was just a tiny compliment. For once, Oikawa was just happy that he wasn’t facing Iwaizumi at that moment.

“Sure, okay, we’ll find something out,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa could practically hear him rolling his eyes. Oikawa smiled nevertheless, seeing Iwaizumi’s not outright denial of the possibility of buying clothes as a success. “I have to return to work, but I’ll message you tomorrow, okay?” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa smiled, nodding, but quickly realising that Iwaizumi couldn’t see that when they were on the phone and not in front of each other.

“Sure, Iwa-chan. Goodnight, and try not to think of me too much,” Oikawa said, keeping his voice sultry. He ended the call before Iwaizumi could say goodbye back to him or, more likely, yell some insult into the phone to keep Oikawa’s ego from growing too big. Oikawa smiled into his pillow, placing his phone next to him on the bed. He got Iwaizumi to invite him to the charity gala, even though they weren’t going to meet up Friday night anyway.

Realization hit him. They weren’t going to meet up Friday anyway. Once again, Iwaizumi’s work kept them from having sex. Oikawa snorted in frustration, burrowing his head in his pillow. Did Iwaizumi forget that he had desires as well? Now Oikawa had to wait until _Saturday_ to see him. He could do that. He still had his right hand and a lot of self-control. Well, maybe not self-control, he had already given into his desires before he had planned to, but now he had taken a conscious choice to do it and now Iwaizumi’s work seemed to be cockblocking him. Oikawa could wait, though. He was a patient man and good things came to those who waited.

 

Oikawa had spent Friday night alone in his room with a bottle of the sakura wine that Iwaizumi had bought for him while watching Netflix on his computer when his phone suddenly vibrated when it was well past eleven in the evening. He quickly grabbed for the phone, reading the ‘Iwa-chan’ on his display, before accepting the call.

“Did you miss me too much to wait for tomorrow?” Oikawa asked playfully, turning around in his bed to look up at the ceiling. He heard Iwaizumi’s chuckle and a door lock in the background.

“I’m _finally_ home from the office and I was thinking about you,” Iwaizumi replied honestly and Oikawa bit his lip, telling himself that Iwaizumi admitting that didn’t made him feel as excited as the butterflies in stomach tried to make him think.

“Feeling bad about cancelling our plans?” Oikawa asked teasingly.

“Well, yeah,” Iwaizumi simply replied, and Oikawa could still hear him moving around – was he serious? Had he really just returned home from work at… way past eleven on a Friday night?

“I guess I missed Iwa-chan as well,” Oikawa admitted, biting his lip. He could hear Iwaizumi’s breathing through the phone, and he suddenly remembered what he had originally planned on spending this Friday night on. Definitely not being _alone_ in his bed watching Netflix.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow,” Iwaizumi said earnestly and Oikawa smirked. That train of thought was effective when Oikawa was going to make him pay for the suit tomorrow afternoon, so he definitely didn’t mind Iwaizumi saying or thinking so.

“What exactly is keeping you at work so often lately?” Oikawa asked, honestly not that interested in hearing about Iwaizumi’s work, but genuinely interested in knowing what he was supposed to be mad at for holding him away from his Iwa-chan.

“Uh,” Iwaizumi said, unsure of how to proceed. Oikawa wondered if there was some sort of confidentiality agreement that Iwaizumi didn’t want to break. That thought only made Oikawa even more curious. “My department has a legal disagreement with another firm and we’re trying to figure out if we need to take it to court or not,” Iwaizumi said on the other end of the line, sounding more tired from work than scared of telling Oikawa. It relieved him a bit.

“So that’s what you dumped our plans for,” Oikawa joked.

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” Iwaizumi said, finally seeming to have sat down – or maybe even gone to bed. Oikawa imagined Iwaizumi, lying in bed while talking to Oikawa, only in his boxers…

“I was going to invite you home for coffee,” Oikawa said, cutting off whatever Iwaizumi was about to say.

“Huh?” Iwaizumi asked, confused for a second. “Oh,” he mumbled, understanding that Oikawa was talking about his plans for the night, for their date. “Home for coffee, huh…” Iwaizumi mumbled, and Oikawa smirked, waiting for Iwaizumi to realise exactly what Oikawa meant by that. “ _Oh_ ,” Iwaizumi repeated himself, when he finally comprehended Oikawa’s words.

“Yeah, oh,” Oikawa said, and he couldn’t help but tease Iwaizumi. “I was hoping to make you repeat that word a couple of times tonight – not like this, though,” he said, not trying to hide the smugness in his voice. Iwaizumi coughed on the other end of the line, moving around shortly, and Oikawa begged that he was already in bed, because this conversation had definitely already awakened something in Oikawa.

“I would’ve looked forward to that,” Iwaizumi said, his voice slightly more hoarse than normal – Oikawa welcomed the change with a satisfied smirk.

“You would? What else would you have looked forward to doing tonight, if we were together?” Oikawa cooed, not even bothering with feigning innocence this time. Iwaizumi grunted something incoherent on the other end of the line.

“Are we seriously gonna do this?” Iwaizumi rasped, just as Oikawa was balancing his phone between his shoulder and ear so he could use both hands to push down his pajama pants. He slid his palm over his already hardened length over his boxers in the motion and bit his lip to hold back a sound.

“We’re already doing it, aren’t we?” Oikawa asked, hoping for some confirmation that Iwaizumi was just as turned on as he was. The only answer he got was a muffled growl, but the sound was just as good an answer as if Iwaizumi had said ‘yes!’ or something alike that.

“Whenever you’re around I can’t help but feel and do things that are so unlike me,” Iwaizumi muttered into his phone, and Oikawa imagined him on his bed, alone, busy touching himself to the sound of Oikawa’s touch. Oikawa wanted to tell him the feeling was mutual, but on the other end, he didn’t want to admit it either.

“I have that effect on people,” Oikawa breathed, already way less in control of his voice than he had expected and hoped for. He pushed down his boxers, unable to hold back a soft moan when his hand finally made contact with his length. He started grabbing at the shaft, slowly working towards the head, imagining that it wasn’t his hand, but rather Iwaizumi touching him, being there with him right now.

“Shit,” Iwaizumi blurted on the other end, and Oikawa bit his lip again, this time smirking. “Are you- are you touching yourself?” Iwaizumi stuttered, and Oikawa could _hear_ the embarrassment in his voice. Iwaizumi probably wasn’t the type to have phone sex normally, and the thought of this being special to him only made Oikawa more excited.

“Yes, but I’d rather have you here doing it, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered wantonly, feeling more confident with the knowledge that he was probably the experienced one of them when it came to getting someone else off just with his voice and words. He had even had phone sex without actually touching himself, but for the first time, Oikawa actually felt like he needed the satisfaction as much as his partner did. When he heard Iwaizumi moan quietly into the phone, he hummed happily, before grabbing for the bottle in the drawer next to his bed. He finally got it without dropping his phone, and he quickly poured some lube over his fingers, moving over and positioning himself so he could comfortably put his hand between his legs. He touched his fingertips at the entrance, biting his lips at the cold sensation of the lube, and then teased the sensitive area, trying to ready himself while still listening intently to Iwaizumi’s sounds on the phone. “Do you know what I’m doing right now, Iwa-chan?” he purred into his phone, pressing his whole softly with his fingertip. He was relaxing enough to press it in softly, and when he did, the sensation made him gasp, and he waited for his body to get used to it.

“No, what are you doing?” Iwaizumi asked, and the roughness in his voice made Oikawa throw back his head. It was too easy to imagine Iwaizumi there with him when his voice was already so sexy, and Oikawa did _not_ like the fact that Iwaizumi was making him feel like that by such simple words. The only retaliation he could think of in that moment was to make Iwaizumi come first.

“I’m using my fingers,” Oikawa whispered. “Stretching myself open, wishing it was your cock doing it.”

“Fuck,” Iwaizumi _growled_ , and Oikawa smirked, pressing his finger deeper into himself, wanting _more_. He felt too impatient, moving his other hand faster up against his length, using his thumb to play with the split, desperate to let out the steam.

“What would you do if you were here?” Oikawa asked as seductively as he could muster, focusing his attention on his fingers again, finally able to press his second finger inside without it getting too uncomfortable. He held his fingers still as he got used to the sensation, slowly spreading them inside him when he felt the need for more again.

“I’d start out using tongue,” Iwaizumi whispered raggedly, his voice hinting that he was already close, and Oikawa’s lips parted as he imagined it. The idea of Iwaizumi rimming him was almost too much. With relationships where Oikawa was supposed to be the pleaser, fulfilling sexual needs as long as his material needs were covered, he was more used to doing the work himself, and Iwaizumi wanting to touch him, Iwaizumi being inside him, was just… different than anything Oikawa had ever felt before. He should’ve tried doing this with someone he was actually attracted to a long time ago.

“I want you in me,” Oikawa blurted, sounding almost pleading. He pressed his head into the pillow, muffling the sound of the moan escaping his lip.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi cried out on the other end of the line, panting in silence while coming. Oikawa pressed his fingers to his prostate, sliding his other hand down his cock one last time before he came as well, hot white spreading over his stomach and T-shirt as he gasped for breath, the pulsing heat in his abdomen dissolving into a feeling of pleasure.

“Iwa-chan,” was the last thing he whispered, and tiny black dots danced around in his vision. He felt dizzy, as if the room was moving or he was lying on a waterbed, but it was a nice kind of dizzy. His eyelids were already heavy, and after minutes of heavily breathing into their phones, Iwaizumi seemed to move around.

“I’m beat,” he said into his phone, and Oikawa could hear him stifle a moan.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa just whispered, smiling lazily as he lied sprawled across his bed, his pyjamas now very much in need of washing after their little session.

“Good night, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi whispered on the other end of the line, and it sounded like he was already dozing off.

“Good night, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa answered, ending the call as he leaned over, putting his phone in the charger and placing it on the pillow next to his, hugging his own pillow as he yawned himself, blinking slowly, already feeling half asleep himself.

“Goodnight, Iwa-chan,” he whispered, now mostly to himself, since he was very much alone in his bed, as he fell asleep, alone in his bed on a Friday night with a lazy smile on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my defense, this is my first time writing phone sex - or, uh, trying to. And I'm still new to smut in general (this is the second 'smutty' scene I'm writing and I haven't posted the other one, with good reason, lmao. My sincerest apologies. 
> 
> And, again, it's literally 6am. I don't even know why I'm up at this time. Goodnight!!! I'll fix the biggest mistakes tomorrow. Probably.
> 
> One thing I succeeded in, though. I've decided to try and keep my chapters between 3-10 pages and I did that right!


	9. It's for charity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "From: Iwa-chan <3 [15:23]  
> I hope you’re ready, because I’m waiting outside.
> 
> Oikawa smiled, quickly grabbing for his phone and then deciding for just one squirt of perfume before walking to the hallway, grabbing for his wallet and keys, but stopping mid motion and putting his wallet back again – he wasn’t going to need his own money tonight anyway."
> 
> (Iwaizumi takes Oikawa to the charity gala, they run into old and new friends)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long! I planned on writing the chapter before leaving for my vacation, but my sister said I didn't have to, haha. Yes, I told my sister that I'm writing a fanfic. No, I didn't tell her what it was about. 
> 
> Once again, unedited and unbeta'ed, but I finished this before 1am, so I hope it's not too terrible. Maybe I'm actually better at writing at night, though.

Saturday came around quickly, and Iwaizumi seemed to be more of a practical rich person than the kind who just swiped their card without looking at the price. Oikawa had hoped for one of those movie-like sequences where Iwaizumi let him borrow his golden card and he could empty all the designer stores, walking out of the department store with a huge smile and several shopping bags. But Iwaizumi had time after a meeting – did he work in the weekends too? - And the second they entered the store, an assistant was all over them, trying to make both men try on several outfits. Normally, Oikawa would’ve enjoyed something like that, but since he did the same thing for a living himself, it was painfully easy to see through her tricks. Iwaizumi obviously wasn’t as experimental style-wise as Oikawa, mostly going for blacks and the classics, whereas Oikawa wanted the newest trends and the most expensive brands. Iwaizumi definitely wasn’t happy about shopping, but he softened whenever Oikawa pouted, lying about having nothing to wear and adding that he was unable to fit Iwaizumi’s clothes, ruling out the possibility of borrowing his clothes – the last part followed by Iwaizumi grunting and slapping Oikawa on the shoulder for calling him tiny. Oikawa enjoyed at least having some height on Iwaizumi, but even if he didn’t, Iwaizumi’s clothes would probably still fit badly, since his shoulders were broader and both men were built completely differently from each other, which, for Oikawa, was a plus, since that gave Iwaizumi no choice but to buy new stuff for Oikawa – he had been the one inviting him (or at least he thought so, and Oikawa wasn’t going to tell him about his own scheming).

Problem was, as manipulative as Oikawa prided himself to be, Iwaizumi turned out to be just as stubborn. So Oikawa ended up with a simple, navy blue suit in a good quality with a good price, making Oikawa satisfied, but not exactly ecstatic. Iwaizumi had told Oikawa that it was a reception, not dinner, so he had to eat before Iwaizumi picked him up – apparently Iwaizumi still had work, he even got a call while they were trying on clothes and Oikawa was a bit fascinated by how his whole demeanour changed to something more intimidating in business-mode. Oikawa ended up at home, with even Kenma gone from the apartment, and Oikawa was painfully aware of the fact that he wasn’t home because he was getting ready to go to the same charity gala as Oikawa, but he was actually spending time with his date beforehand, probably at some amazing restaurant, hanging with other rich people. Or Yaku and Lev (Lev actually counting as a rich person as well, but to Oikawa it was still different, he was so… Lev – and that was after meeting him just twice). After some consideration, Oikawa ended up just eating one of Kenma’s frozen pizzas, contemplating opening a bottle of wine while it was cooking, but deciding against it since they’d probably get served champagne at the event.

Oikawa finished the pizza slice, changing into his new suit and wearing a shirt that he hadn’t worn in a long time – one he had gotten from Ushiwaka, a time that he preferred not to think of. But he wanted to look good for Iwaizumi, and this was one of the shirts that fit him the best and it fit his new suit better. He added his black leather lace-up shoes from Prada that he had actually bought for his own money (… technically – he got them from someone ‘for a cab’ but that was pretty much enough money to travel across the country by taxi – not that he was complaining). His hair took a bit longer to set perfectly, but now his hair could pretty much survive a storm without getting ruined. While he was putting on cologne, considering whether or not calling Iwaizumi would seem impatient, his phone vibrated and he ran over to read the message, already knowing what it was going to say.

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [19:23]**

_I hope you’re ready, because I’m waiting outside._

Oikawa smiled, quickly grabbing for his phone and then deciding for just one squirt of perfume before walking to the hallway, grabbing for his wallet and keys, but stopping mid motion and putting his wallet back again – he wasn’t going to need his own money tonight anyway.

Honestly, Oikawa had no idea what he had expected, but not the view that met his eyes. He had probably finally learned not to expect Iwaizumi to be a man of expensive taste – or, that was probably a false statement, but not one with a _showy_ taste. So he had expected Iwaizumi to have a regular looking car, maybe one with a good motor, but definitely not something too wild. For once, Oikawa was positively surprised by Iwaizumi’s buying habits. The low, space grey sports car that welcomed Oikawa outside his apartment was more than he could hope for – the colour, of course, wasn’t the most vibrant, but he hadn’t expected anything like that from his Iwa-chan either. It had ‘Aston Martin’ written in swirly letters on the side, and even though the logo was discreet, the model of the car definitely wasn’t – everything about it screamed big money and Oikawa couldn’t be happier.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa gasped, staring at the car. Iwaizumi opened the door on the passenger side from inside the car, smiling out at Oikawa.

“You ready?” he asked, and just then Oikawa realised that he was in a suit as well, looking extremely attractive. Oikawa couldn’t hold back his wide grin even if he tried, jumping inside the car, and feeling like an excited kid going to Disneyland. “This car is amazing, Iwa-chan!” he said, his voice even more lively than usual and without trying. Iwaizumi smiled proudly, patting the steering wheel like a proud father. “Can I try driving it some time?” Oikawa asked, and Iwaizumi’s face changed into horror, as if Oikawa had just asked if he could take his precious child skydiving or something.

“She’s my baby,” Iwaizumi whispered, and Oikawa snickered, rolling his eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to drive a car like this,” Oikawa commented, looking at Iwaizumi curiously as he started driving the car away from Oikawa’s apartment.

“Well, I don’t use this one normally, my baby was made for cruising the real roads, not the city,” Iwaizumi explained, waving his hand absentmindedly before putting it back on the steering wheel.

“What other car do you have?” Oikawa asked, smiling even broader. This night seemed to be going better and better for him.

“An Audi A8,” Iwaizumi said, smiling fondly; definitely a car fan. Oikawa smiled, also happy to know more about Iwaizumi’s life and interests, especially since this was a hobby that Oikawa approved of.

The charity event was held at a hotel and when they arrived, Iwaizumi gave his car key to someone in the hotel staff who parked the car for them, earning a glance for Oikawa. He was going to let some stranger – albeit a professional – drive his car, but still had his doubts with Oikawa? Oikawa didn’t even like the idea of handing over something that valuable to anyone, especially not hotel staff. What if the guy drove away with Iwaizumi’s car? He had always found people like that suspicious

“I can practically see the wheels turning in your head,” Iwaizumi commented, and Oikawa looked at him with a quick smile, grabbing for his arm to hold him. Iwaizumi looked at him in surprise and then smiled softly before Oikawa realised that he hadn’t even considered the fact that maybe Iwaizumi didn’t want to go public just yet – especially not in such a, well, public place.

Iwaizumi didn’t even need to show an invitation or say his name to some bouncer, they simply walked in and were greeted instantly by Iwaizumi’s acquaintances.

“That’s my assistant,” Iwaizumi said as he stopped at the entrance of the huge ballroom, staring at a tiny blonde woman who looked terrified between two tall men that Oikawa instantly remembered as not just Bokuto Koutarou, the owlish looking man he had caught making out with his assistant in that office but Kuroo Tetsurou, who might seem harmless, but definitely didn’t look the part with his catlike grin, dark hair – still as messy as usual, couldn’t he at least try to look good for a _gala?_ – and towering height. Oikawa followed Iwaizumi who had probably realised the same thing and was already rushing over to save the tiny girl whom he had called his assistant.

“Yachi-san!” Iwaizumi said, smiling broadly and stepping out in front of Bokuto. Oikawa decided to join him next to Kuroo, but Yachi literally yelped when she saw him. Iwaizumi shot him an angry look and Oikawa smiled at her, turning on all of his charm as he reached out his hand to say hello, but before he could say his name, Iwaizumi flapped it away casually, turning to Yachi, who was blushing even more than before. Oikawa suddenly realised that he probably wasn’t doing a better job than Bokuto Koutarou or Kuroo at calming her down and stepped back, instead turning his attention to the other men, but still trying to listen to Iwaizumi’s conversation with Yachi.

“Kiyo-, uh! I mean! Shimizu-san invited me,” She said, stuttering a few time and looking even more bewildered than before. Oikawa recognised the name as the female president of their company, also the gorgeous obsidian haired woman with glasses who had ignored his advances when he had realised she was wealthy. Oikawa shot a look at Iwaizumi who had both hands on Yachi’s shoulders, surprisingly actually doing a good job at calming her down, and Oikawa decided that he chosen right when he decided not to give up on Iwaizumi, instead of going after Glasses-chan.

Said woman came over in a beige evening dress, grabbing for Yachi’s hand, and Oikawa couldn’t help but smirk, remembering what excuse he had told Kenma when he had joked about Oikawa being unable to charm her – maybe she actually did play for the other team. Yachi looked back to her and got nervous again, but this time the grin on her face looked more excited and more _real_ , and it was clear to him that _she_ was definitely into girls. Then he remembered that Kenma was supposed to be there with Kuroo and quickly turned his attention back to him.

“Where’s Kenma?” He asked, and Kuroo looked up at him, Oikawa quickly realising that he just cut them off in the middle of a conversation. Luckily, none of them seemed to mind.

“He’s with Yaku right now,” Kuroo said, smiling excitedly as if he just remembered that he was there with Kenma. Bokuto took a step closer to Oikawa, smiling broadly.

“Hey, Oikawa, right? Kuroo told me a lot about you, I’m so sorry about the first time we, uh, met,” Bokuto said, smiling proudly and making it obvious that he wasn’t _that_ sorry. It probably wasn’t him who wanted to keep the relationship a secret. Before Oikawa could answer, Bokuto started talking again. “And Kuroo told me everything, it’s so cool how you helped him with Kenma, and _Lev,_ I’ve never seen that guy so excited!” Bokuto’s enthusiasm was contagious and Oikawa smiled, not bothering with correcting him about calling Oikawa the one setting them up – Oikawa didn’t mind being credited with that, even if he didn’t really do his part and he _was_ happy for both of his friends, so that counted as well, right?

“Please don’t scare my date,” Iwaizumi said, stepping up next to Oikawa with a smile at Bokuto, who lighted up even more when seeing Iwaizumi – Oikawa hadn’t thought that possible if people asked him just a second before that.

“Iwaizumi!” He said, the volume bordering to a yell, and he jumped over to _hug_ him, Iwaizumi accepting the hug with a shocked smile.

“He’s had a bit of champagne already,” Kuroo explained and both Oikawa and Iwaizumi nodded understandingly. “Plus, Akaashi agreed to be his date,” Kuroo said, and Oikawa nodded, this time even more understandingly, but Iwaizumi looked shocked.

“Date? Are they…?” Iwaizumi asked, and Bokuto nodded.

“Yes! We succeeded in keeping it a secret!” Bokuto said, raising a fist in victory, his almost childish behaviour contrasting his expensive suit.

“From approximately one person in the whole department,” Kuroo added, the same lazy smile on his lips. Oikawa chuckled and Iwaizumi still looked like he was processing the new information.

“I never agreed to being his date, I simply said yes to accompanying him,” Akaashi Keiji, the man himself, joined in on the conversation, making Oikawa compete for the title of the most attractive one there, looking absolutely ravishing even in his simple suit and barely styled hair. Oikawa couldn’t help but pout, literally putting his lower lip out in habit as he always did when things didn’t go his way. He looked up, noticing Iwaizumi’s eyes on him, but then they focused on something behind him, and Iwaizumi turned towards whomever it was, smiling calmly.

“Shimizu-san,” he said, and Oikawa stiffened, slowly turning to meet her, remembering that she had _been_ there for quite a while, her hand in Iwaizumi’s assistants, with lots of time to look at Oikawa and maybe even recognise him. For once, Oikawa hoped that he didn’t leave such a strong imprint that he’d still be remembered.

“Thank you for letting me borrow your assistant for the night, Iwaizumi,” she said, her tone warm and friendly, as she shot a loving gaze at Yachi, who blushed and looked down, her smile looking a bit wobbly.

“I have to go, I’ll catch up with you later,” Kuroo suddenly said, leaving the group hastily and easily finding his way through the crowd to somewhere across the room, Bokuto following him quickly with a comment that was lost in the sounds of the crowd.

“I’m going to have to apologise on their behalf,” Akaashi said, his face completely calm – maybe a bit tired – before vanishing in the crowd after his date and Kuroo.

“This is Oikawa, he’s accompanying me tonight,” Iwaizumi said, smiling to Shimizu and Yachi as he presented Oikawa.

“Oikawa Tooru,” he said, smiling at Yachi and shooting a nervous glance at Shimizu.

“Shimizu Kiyoko,” she said, looking at Oikawa from over the bridge of her glasses, recognition clear in her eyes. She raised an eyebrow, looking between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, before Yachi almost jumped in place, taking a step forward to talk.

“Yachi Hitoka, I’m, um, Iwaizumi-san’s assistant,” she said, smiling nervously at Oikawa and then turning to Iwaizumi, who nodded encouragingly to her.

“I hope you’ll excuse us for now, I have some associates I have to say hello to,” Shimizu said, shooting one last look at Oikawa before walking off with Yachi, her calm confidence contrasting Yachi’s more nervous, yet cute personality. Oikawa decided that he liked the young girl, especially since Iwaizumi liked her enough to keep her as a personal assistant, even though she obviously wasn’t his type.

“Do you want to try and find your friends?” Iwaizumi said, already having been told that Kuroo was taking his roommate.

“Yes, please,” Oikawa said, smiling as they started walking through the crowd again.

“I hate these things,” Iwaizumi mumbled, steering out of the way from a couple that seemed a bit too pompous, apparently expecting everyone else to move out of their way. And then Oikawa realised just how uncomfortable Iwaizumi looked. He might’ve looked like he was born to wear a suit like that, but he seemed tense, even bored, as if this was some arrangement he was forced to attend. Maybe it was, maybe he had to do it for work.

“Why did you bother coming?” Oikawa asked, even though he had already concluded the reason in his mind.

“Work, obviously,” Iwaizumi said, waving a hand in the direction they came from, to where the impromptu meeting between all the colleagues had just been. “It’s for charity, remember?” Iwaizumi then added and there was a small smile on his lips. Oikawa nodded, smiling broadly. Unlike him, Oikawa loved events like these; the networking, rich people, the perfect reason to dress up to the nines and the free champagne. This was pretty close to heaven for Oikawa. He couldn’t really imagine anything that could ruin this night.

Until he recognised a face almost right in front of him, dark eyes looking straight at him, out ruling the chance of running away, and acting like he didn’t see him. Oikawa quickly turned to look at Iwaizumi, who was looking in the same direction, his smile more professional now.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” Ushijima Wakatoshi’s deep voice said, familiar and clear, even though he hadn’t talked that loud. Iwaizumi and Oikawa walked up, meeting him halfway.

“Ushijima, hello,” Iwaizumi said, the same smile in his lip – he didn’t look like he was faking it exactly, but it wasn’t a happy smile either. And then Ushijima turned to Oikawa, and if Oikawa had felt hopeless in any other time up until now, it was nothing like he felt in that exact moment. He recognised anger amongst all the feelings flowing through him, hurt and sadness, but most of all, fear. He looked at Iwaizumi, who had turned to Oikawa, smiling comfortably, as if calming him down, and he sincerely hoped that this wasn’t going to be the last time Iwaizumi looked at him like that.

“Oikawa Tooru,” Ushijima said, nodding at him. Iwaizumi turned to Ushijima in surprise and Oikawa bit his lip, waiting for the realization to hit.

“Ushiwaka,” he said, the nickname contrasting the venom in his tone.

“You know each other?” Iwaizumi asked, turning back to Oikawa, his expression still confused.

“We used to,” Oikawa said and Ushiwaka nodded, looking down at Oikawa’s outfit.

“Your shirt is nice,” Ushiwaka said and Oikawa _gaped_. Was he really that evil?

Iwaizumi turned away to grab some champagne glasses and Oikawa took a step closer, hissing. “Of course you do, you bought it for me,” he said. Ushiwaka simply lifted his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly, as if he was deep in thought.

“Really? I didn’t remember that,” he said earnestly, and Oikawa didn’t know if he should be relieved that Ushiwaka _wasn’t_ intent on ruining his relationship with Iwaizumi the most malevolent way or offended that he didn’t care enough to remember. When Iwaizumi came back with a glass of champagne for Oikawa, he decided to go for the first feeling, smiling at Iwaizumi and trying not to look upset.

“Did I miss anything?” Iwaizumi said, turning to Ushiwaka again. Oikawa shook his head quickly, and Ushiwaka finally seemed to understand that Oikawa didn’t want their former relationship known, shaking his head as well.

Oikawa _knew_ he wasn’t going to say anything if he didn’t want him to, because Ushiwaka wasn’t mean or evil, no matter how much easier it would make it for Oikawa. The man was just extremely rational, opportunistic and had no understanding of relationships, going for whatever partner could give him what he needed – it had always been like that, and when Oikawa wasn’t that person, he had been replaced. He honestly shouldn’t have been surprised, but it still hurt. It was _mean_ and Oikawa didn’t care about Ushiwaka’s intentions or rationality, it was evil.

“I have to go find Tendou, we’ll see each other soon, Iwaizumi,” Ushijima said, bowing shortly before walking away, leaving Oikawa and Iwaizumi standing awkwardly, both a bit unsure of what had just happened. Tendou was Ushiwaka’s assistant, annoyingly close to him and probably the only person Ushijima couldn’t just get rid of. Oikawa didn’t know if it was because the redhead had grown on Ushijima’s cold heart or if it was just because he had made himself indispensable.

“’We’ll see each other soon’?” Oikawa asked, turning to Iwaizumi.

“Yes, we’re actually working a case against each other,” Iwaizumi said, taking a sip of his champagne. And then he turned to Oikawa, raising an eyebrow. “What about you two?” he asked, and Oikawa could easily see that Iwaizumi had understood from their conversation that there was _definitely_ more to their story.

“Well, we used to be… we’re not…” Oikawa began, thinking to himself how stupid he was that he didn’t make up a story for that beforehand, because he really should have realised that this was a subject he couldn’t really miss. Iwaizumi nodded, shrugging slightly.

“You don’t need to explain if you don’t want to,” he said, despite obviously wanting to know more. Oikawa did feel bad for not explaining, but he wasn’t ready and he couldn’t help but let out an audible sigh of relief, nodding with a grateful smile that made Iwaizumi smile back to him.

“Thank you,” Oikawa smiled, taking a sip of his champagne and trying to forget Ushiwaka, focusing on the wonderful person he was with – Iwaizumi wasn’t going to pressure him and he was nice, albeit a bit grumpy sometimes and not really a consumerist. “I’ll tell you sometime,” Oikawa promised. _When I’m ready,_ he added. When they were both ready, when their relationship could handle that kind of reveal. In fact, conversations like these would’ve been easier with Ushiwaka who _knew_ what the relationship was about, simply something mutually beneficial, not a normal romantic one. But with Iwaizumi, Oikawa had broken rules, started enjoying his time and, even worse, sincerely started liking Iwaizumi Hajime.

“Tooru,” Oikawa recognised Kenma’s voice, and he could hear him clearly, despite the fact that he didn’t raise his voice. He was close by. Turning around quickly, Oikawa smiled brightly, hugging his friend tightly, Kenma simply patting him on the back, waiting for Oikawa to let go, not really the cuddliest person.

“Kenma!” Oikawa said chirpily, noticing not only Kuroo, but also Yaku and Lev coming up behind Kenma.

“Are we finally going to meet the famous Iwa-chan?” Yaku asked, and Oikawa suddenly remembered that Iwaizumi actually hadn’t met them yet – Oikawa had already sort of imagined him being close to them, since Kuroo and Lev – even Bokuto Koutarou – already seemed to be, so why not his precious Iwa-chan? But they hadn’t met, and if there was one thing Oikawa enjoyed, it was showing what he had.

“My strong, amazing, tiny,” – Iwaizumi flicked his ear and he stuck out his tongue in return – “boyfriend, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa ended the presentation, smiling excitedly. Yaku took a step forward and greeted Iwaizumi, being probably the most dignified person in their conversation, despite being both the shortest and lowest paid of them all.

“I’m Yaku Morisuke,” he said and smiled approvingly at Oikawa, who felt his heart swell with pride over his Iwa-chan being approved by his friend – he hadn’t really realised how important this was to him before now. He turned excitedly to Kenma to watch his reaction, but Iwaizumi said something before Kenma could say his name.

“I’m Iwaizumi Hajime, and you must be Kozume Kenma, the roommate?” Iwaizumi asked, smiling politely. Kenma nodded, unable to say something as Kuroo leaned in, swinging an arm over his shoulder casually with a confident smirk.

“But this one is mine, pretty boy is all yours,” Kuroo said, looking from Iwaizumi to Oikawa. Iwaizumi blushed, but Oikawa just smiled, brushing away the nickname as a compliment.

“Behave, Kuroo,” Kenma said, leaning away from his date for the night, instead turning his attention back to Iwaizumi. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Hajime. Please call me Kenma,” he said, and Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at the familiarity, being on first name-basis so early – of course, he wouldn’t have been used to it so soon when even Oikawa used his last name as a nickname – of course, that was only because Iwaizumi refused to give him his name. Iwaizumi. Kenma had called him Hajime already and while Oikawa liked ‘Iwa-chan’, he liked Hajime even better. He wondered if he could start calling him Hajime as well or if that was too soon.

“I think I like you, Kenma,” Iwaizumi said, looking at Kuroo who actually followed Kenma’s orders, standing up straight and only having his arm loosely hung around Kenma’s shoulder instead of leaning over completely – and staying quiet. Kenma gave Iwaizumi a soft smile and Oikawa smiled, satisfied that his friends all accepted his Iwa-chan.

Now everyone knew each other – or, at least everyone present. Oikawa wasn’t interested in Kenma meeting Glasses-chan, because he would definitely make remarks at Oikawa’s failed attempt at seducing her and she would probably join in. Actually, Oikawa imagined them getting along perfectly, which just made him fear their meeting even more. Not counting the fact that Shimizu Kiyoko looked at home in her evening dress and Oikawa couldn’t imagine Kenma at a place like this before tonight. His head quickly snapped over to look at his friend, who looked surprisingly comfortable in his simple, but well-fitted suit, talking to Kuroo with a tiny smile.

“I didn’t know you owned a suit, Kenma,” Oikawa said, smiling.

“I didn’t,” Kenma said, looking up at Oikawa from his conversation. Kuroo turned around.

“I picked him up in slacks and a shirt. I would’ve expected you to make sure he wasn’t going to do stuff like that,” Kuroo said, smiling fondly at Kenma but talking to Oikawa, who just rolled his eyes. “So we went and got one before dinner,” Kuroo said.

“Your last-minute tailor?” Iwaizumi asked Kuroo, as if they were discussing where they bought their groceries and not high end personally made suits for more money than people spent probably half a month on groceries.

“Yeah,” Kuroo said, shrugging and smiling lazily, looking down at Kenma’s outfit. Oikawa could see pride in his eyes and turned to look at Iwaizumi, wondering if he had a tailor. Probably not, if he bought his suits himself normally too. Why would he? And from what Oikawa knew, people usually used the same tailors as their family, and he had already found out that Iwaizumi wasn’t that close with his parents.

Iwaizumi had picked up new glasses of champagne for Oikawa and himself again while Oikawa was thinking, and when Oikawa gratefully took one, Iwaizumi leaned in with a smile, bringing his mouth to Oikawa’s ear.

“Thank you for coming, you’re making this so much more tolerable,” he said, pulling away again with a warm smile that made Oikawa’s legs a bit wobbly. A dark-haired man waved in the distance, but Oikawa didn’t recognise him before Iwaizumi waved back, calling his name. “Sawamura-san,” he said, turning to Oikawa who just waved at him to walk over, since he didn’t really mind being left alone with several friends present. Oikawa did remember a Sawamura Daichi and when he looked at the man now, he could recognise him. He was talking up a silver-haired man who was faced away from Oikawa. Oikawa returned his attention to his friends again when Yaku talked to him, uninterested when he realised that it was simply another of Iwaizumi’s colleagues.

After that, the event turned out pretty, well, uneventful, but at least he got some time alone with his date, as long as he made sure Iwaizumi didn’t recognise anyone he knew but hadn’t greeted yet and as long as Oikawa avoided anyone he knew from before – apparently, there were a lot of rich people in events for rich people, to no one’s surprise.

Someone called Iwaizumi a bit later and after looking at the display, signed for Oikawa that he was going to move outside while taking the call, hurrying towards the terrace. Oikawa followed after, but out of courtesy, he didn’t really listen in on the call, turning to Iwaizumi curiously when he ended the call later, a frustrated look on his face.

“What’s up?” Oikawa asked, his brows furrowing before even hearing the bad news. Did a distant relative die? Did his stocks lose value? Did he forget to turn off the oven before leaving?

“I have work,” Iwaizumi said, massaging his temple with his middle and index finger. “Tonight,” he said.

“ _Tonight?_ ” Oikawa asked in a small voice, his tone already bordering to a whine. Iwaizumi nodded guiltily, looking away but then back at Oikawa.

“I’m really sorry, I can drive you home, or you can stay and get a lift with your friends, or–“, Iwaizumi began, but Oikawa lifted both hands, waving him off dismissively with a patient smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, smiling. He knew that work could come up whenever and Iwaizumi _had_ told him that he had extra work at the moment. And Oikawa was used to being left last minute for work – he understood it was important and he never had an issue with it when it was Ushiwaka or anyone else. With Ushiwaka, of course, he had compensated with money and, even though he never really admitted it, Oikawa did enjoy spending time with Ushiwaka in the end – but not _more_ than he enjoyed the money. He was used to being with someone who worked and put their work first. He could handle that. But

then Iwaizumi smiled again apologetically, leaning in and giving him a swift kiss on his cheek, smiling lovingly at Oikawa, and he felt his heart swell to double size, cursing Iwaizumi for being so sweet. How could Oikawa let him go when he was being this sweet?

“You work a lot,” Oikawa said, smiling at Iwaizumi but not wanting him to leave.

“Would it help if I said I don’t usually do it _this_ much?” Iwaizumi said, smiling apologetically. Oikawa smiled back, not exactly happily, but what he hoped looked understanding, nodding. “I’m not used to this whole,” Iwaizumi motioned with his hand between the two of them, “this thing…” he mumbled.

“Thing?” Oikawa asked, going for an amused tone, but even he could hear the slight accusation in his voice. Was their relationship a thing? At least he could have gone for a ‘relationship thing’ or something.

“I’m not completely sure what it is,” Iwaizumi said, finally looking up and meeting Oikawa’s eyes, looking like he was genuinely wondering – Oikawa realised that he had probably been asking himself that for a little while and they _hadn’t_ had the talk. Oikawa wasn’t used to having to do that, he was probably just as unused to the whole… thing. But his head was buzzing and for once the champagne wasn’t doing anything good for his mood.

“Well, should I return when you _do_ know, then?” he asked, putting a hand on his hip. Iwaizumi looked at him confused, then shaking his head.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” he said, but Oikawa cut him off.

“I know that’s not what you meant,” Oikawa said, his raised finger making it obvious that he didn’t want Iwaizumi to talk. “But don’t expect me to wait around for you to find out,” he added, grabbing for his phone in his pocket. “Don’t worry about driving me home, I’ll take a cab,” he said, turning around to walk. Iwaizumi didn’t follow him, instead looking after him in shock as Oikawa walked out, angry at Iwaizumi for still not being sure about how what they were, angry with him for not running after Oikawa, angry at himself for being so dramatic. He was also angry at the people arranging the party for serving a champagne that didn’t make him happy drunk and even a bit angry at the ones at Iwaizumi’s work that made him leave at this time. But honestly, he wasn’t angry with Iwaizumi for doing his duty and choosing his work, even on a night like this. He couldn’t be and he didn’t blame Iwaizumi. Most of all, he just blamed himself. When he got outside, he dialled in the number for the only taxi company he knew, and then padded his other jacket pocket for his wallet, realizing that he didn’t bring it. He couldn’t take a cab home. He was definitely most angry with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmaooo, it's siesta right now and I'm sitting outside the reception in Italy trying to send this off bc I have no internet in our apartment, but oh well!! here it is. This was more of a "let's just get it over with" chapter, but I'm actually really excited for the next one. 
> 
> I'm really sorry about the end, though, I'm not feeling it. But it was needed for the next chapter and I have no creativity to come up with real drama.


	10. Puddle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Maybe I love him,” Oikawa whispered, only just loud enough to hear and still not looking at Ushiwaka, biting his lip right after saying it – he didn’t love him yet, did he? If he loved Iwaizumi, he felt terrible about telling Ushijima Wakatoshi of all people first.  
> “You’re not capable of that,” Ushjima said calmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean the best writing doesn't happen at 4am? 
> 
> also, i had looked forward to writing this chapter _so_ much and it was such a disappointment? like, I did enjoy writing it but it just felt half assed all of it, I couldn't get in the mood that I was when I had the idea for these scenes (bc yes, this chapter is basically two scenes that I had looked forward to writing), but I couldn't bring up the atmosphere I hoped for.  
>  Basically, "Tag, you're it" by Melanie Martinez for the ushi scene and "Drive" by Halsey for the iwaoi at last

After his phone died, Oikawa decided that the gods were simply against him that night, and his safest option would be to walk home. But, of course, the gods _really_ weren’t with him, and after walking about two blocks, the tiny drops landing in his hair and on his hands indicated that it really was starting to rain. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, Oikawa cursed under his breath and at least hoped that the rain would sober him up, and he wondered if karma really did exist as he made his way through the city in the rain, staring down at his shadow casted from the streetlights.

When Oikawa heard the sound of a car in the distance, he walked away from the street just to be safe, but when the black car turned from a street corner and drove right up next to him, he quickly recognised the Rolls Royce Phantom and stopped in the middle of a step, more out of instinct than because he _actually_ wanted to talk to the owner of the car. He started walking again instantly when the toned window belonging to the backseat started rolling down, but the car simply started followed in the same pace as he was walking, the driver casually rolling next to him as no other than Ushijima Wakatoshi stuck out his head, looking at Oikawa with an unreadable expression. Oikawa felt exposed out in the rain and he lifted the coat he already had slung over his shoulders over his head to cover himself from the rain, looking forward and not meeting Ushiwaka’s eyes.

“Are you stalking me now?” Oikawa asked jokingly, still deliberately looking forward as he walked, making his steps longer in determination to get home, away from him, as quickly as possible.

“Where is your date?” Ushiwaka simply asked, and Oikawa rolled his eyes, shooting a _look_ at his ex to show him that he wasn’t going to answer the question – Ushijima seemed to understand this, instead deciding to get right to the case. “I’d like to propose a deal to you,” he said, keeping his voice professional as usual.

“I’m taken, sorry,” Oikawa simply said, once again opting for keeping his gaze forward, ignoring him.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” Ushiwaka said slowly, as if tasting the words, weighing the name on his tongue. “You are aware that his wealth is significantly smaller than mine, right?” Oikawa knew that Ushijima wasn’t trying to be disrespectful by saying that, yet he was still offended.

Oikawa wanted to say something along the lines of ‘ _well, his dick isn’t,’_ but, of course, he had no way of knowing if that was true – and it wasn’t really relevant – but Ushiwaka didn’t need to know that. Of course, Oikawa didn’t say so, instead turning to Ushiwaka and giving Ushiwaka the most confident smile he could muster, lying easily despite his mood. “We both know it has more to do with how much of the wealth you’re willing to share than how big it is,” he said. He didn’t know why he got defensive like that, because Iwaizumi _didn’t_ pay Oikawa more than Ushijima, and Oikawa had a feeling that he was already aware of that, but luckily, Ushijima didn’t call him out, instead nodding, agreeing with Oikawa’s statement.

“That’s why I’m proposing a new deal,” Ushiwaka said calmly, and Oikawa stared at him, still walking slowly, but suddenly the earth disappeared under one of his feet as he stepped into a hole in the street, _a hole filled with water_ , and he cursed loudly.

“Fuck!” He said, stopping in his steps and quickly pulling his foot to himself, obviously already too late. He stared down at his foot, drenched in muddy water, and couldn’t help but pout, already feeling the stingy sensation in his eyes, but blinking away the tears before they had a chance to fall. Ushiwaka was here and he could be sad another time – right now he was just angry. “My Prada shoes!” Oikawa whined, not caring about how shrill his voice had turned, but then he angrily stared at the car that had stopped next to him, starting to walk again, this time even faster. His wet sock felt like a sponge in the shoe, reminding him that his foot was drenched with every step he took.

“You’re not even interested in hearing my proposal?” Ushiwaka asked, the car following right next to him once again without Ushijima having said anything to his driver.

“Maybe I love him,” Oikawa whispered, only just loud enough to hear and still not looking at Ushiwaka, biting his lip right after saying it – he didn’t love him yet, did he? _If_ he loved Iwaizumi, he felt terrible about telling _Ushijima Wakatoshi_ of all people first.

“You’re not capable of that,” Ushijima said calmly, pushing away whatever doubts about Iwaizumi Oikawa had – at least for now. Oikawa quickened his pace, snorting at Ushiwaka and lifting his nose in the air, trying to keep up whatever dignity he had left. The worst thing about the insult was that Ushijima hadn’t _meant_ it as an insult – he really did think Oikawa was like that and he didn’t _mind_. He didn’t care. Iwaizumi had said something like it, but he had been joking and he had seemed to notice every time Oikawa tried to show that he cared, proving to Oikawa that whenever he did it, it wasn’t done for nothing – it had purpose. Iwaizumi didn’t know about Oikawa’s sugar dating plans, he sincerely believed their relationship to be based on how they felt and Oikawa _liked_ that. Before meeting Iwaizumi, Oikawa would’ve agreed with Ushiwaka, but things had changed. He wanted to be the person Iwaizumi believed him to be, and Ushiwaka – a person who, sadly, knew him well, was telling him that it wasn’t like that. Oikawa could try all he wanted, but Ushiwaka didn’t believe that he could have a normal relationship, because _he wasn’t capable of loving him_.

“I’m not going back to you, Ushiwaka-chan,” Oikawa spit out the nickname bitterly, still staring forward and once again blinking rapidly to try and stop the stinging in his eyes. Ushiwaka _didn’t_ know him anymore – Oikawa had become a new person the second they broke up and he didn’t care about whatever Ushiwaka offered him, he wasn’t interested any longer. “I made a rookie mistake: I trusted you.” Oikawa said, stopping and turning towards Ushiwaka, who was still sitting in his car, his head leaned out the open window. “I’m not about to make that same mistake once more,” Oikawa added, snuffling awkwardly, but grateful that at least he wasn’t crying.

“At least let me give you a lift home,” Ushiwaka said calmly, glancing at Oikawa’s feet, reminding Oikawa once again that one of his Prada shoes were probably ruined. Oikawa stared at Ushiwaka as he opened the door, too stunned to really react as the other man draped his own coat over Oikawa’s shoulders, leading him into the back seat and then sitting next to him, motioning for the driver to start again.

“You don’t know where I live,” Oikawa mumbled, staring out the front window, but stealing a glance at Ushiwaka to try and read his reaction, but simply being met by a casual shrug as Ushiwaka answered.

“I know your address, I kept tabs on you afterwards,” He said, and Oikawa realised that the driver already knew the way as they turned down the street towards his area and Oikawa suddenly realised that he had been freezing, when he finally got back the feeling in his hands in the heated car, the heavy coat on his shoulders still giving out some of Ushiwaka’s body heat from wearing it shortly before. Oikawa recognised the smell of his cologne, but it didn’t excite him anymore like it used to – instead he thought about Iwaizumi, how he smelled and how Oikawa felt at ease but also excited at the same time around him. Oikawa decided that he liked Hajime’s smell the best.

“This – me accepting your offer to give me a ride – doesn’t change anything,” Oikawa said, leaning back in his seat as Ushijima grabbed for a wine bottle in the cooler between the two backseats. Oikawa rolled his eyes as he recognised the champagne bottle, reluctantly taking the glass offered him.

“I understand, I still felt like driving you home, especially after you accidentally stepped in that puddle,” Ushiwaka said, opening the bottle of champagne and pouring up in their glasses. Oikawa had been used to this – the personal driver, drinking champagne in the car, the extravagance – but even though he did miss it a bit, he still felt guilty for doing it with Ushijima Wakatoshi when there was someone else he’d rather be with. “You are aware that Iwaizumi Hajime is busy with a with a law case right now, correct?” Ushiwaka said, taking a sip of his champagne with practiced finesse. “One that could risk his position,” he said. Oikawa rolled his eyes.

“Doesn’t mean I’m going back to you – fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, it’s shame on me,” Oikawa said, turning to look at Ushiwaka as he put down the champagne glass, getting hit by a wave of nausea. He definitely had enough alcohol for the night and he instantly regretted not eating more that day.

“I never fooled you,” Ushiwaka said, his voice sincere, and Oikawa snorted, shaking his head.

“Maybe _you_ don’t think so, but that’s not really relevant to me,” Oikawa said, annoyed at how Ushijima was pledging innocent when he _knew_ what situation he had put Oikawa in. Oikawa wasn’t hurt or sad anymore – he was just angry and tired and he _really_ missed his bed. His phone vibrated in his pocket, but Oikawa ignored it for now, instead staring out the window. The car stopped and despite the fact that Oikawa had been looking out the window, he hadn’t _really_ been seeing where he was, instead staring out into nothing, but he suddenly realised that they were parked outside his door. Ushiwaka opened the door and walked out, reaching out a hand for Oikawa to use as balance, but letting it fall when Oikawa ignored it.

“Thank you for the ride home,” Oikawa said coolly, not meeting Ushiwaka’s eyes, instead grabbing for his keys in his pocket. Ushiwaka gave him a card and Oikawa took it without thinking, instantly regretting that he accepted it when he wasn’t interested in contacting Ushiwaka again.

“Feel free to contact me if you change your mind,” Ushiwaka simply said before walking back to his car, closing the door after him as the car instantly drove off. Oikawa stared after it for a couple of seconds, then shook his head and walked over to the door, locking it up and walking to his apartment, deep in thought. He put the business card in his pocket, realising that it wasn’t _his_ pocket but Ushiwaka’s, but not really caring about that part for now, since the nausea building in the car had turned into a full on headache now and he _really_ wanted to go straight to bed.

Oikawa hung the coat in his hallway, noticing that Kenma’s shoes weren’t there and going straight for his room, plugging his phone into the charger before walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get some water.

When he returned to his room, his phone had turned on and he quickly took off his clothes, deciding to just sleep in his boxers that night, as he threw himself on his bed, sighing contently as he hugged his pillow. He yawned, but grabbed for his phone when he saw the screen lighting up with a new message notification.

 

**From: Iwa-chan <3 [01:54]**

_Did you get home safely? I’m sorry._

Oikawa didn’t know how to answer. How could he apologise without losing face? Ushiwaka-chan taking him home actually _worsened_ his guilt, but he felt a bit proud about turning him down, even going against better judgment for… for what exactly? _Love?_ Oikawa Tooru loved money, his friends, shopping, his family, milk bread and… Did he love Iwa-chan? He remembered the text and quickly pressed the reply button; best way to make up for his mistake would definitely not be to ignore it.

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [01:56]**

_Yes, thank you. Goodnight, Iwa-chan <3_

 

Oikawa put his phone back after that, smiling into his pillow despite the fact that he was replaying their last conversation in his head already. Oikawa knew he could be an ass, even more of an ass when he was drunk, but Iwaizumi didn’t seem like the type to just take shit like that – he had always been right there to put Oikawa back into place whenever he crossed a line, but Oikawa hadn’t let him. He hadn’t even apologized in his message afterwards. Instead, he had been taking a ride home with his ex, who hadn’t been hiding his desire to get back together, even though he had respected Oikawa’s refusal.

Then again, Oikawa _had_ refused, which in itself was a surprise – normally Oikawa would’ve jumped at the chance at getting back together, even if he was still mad at Ushiwaka. The money was more important than the hit his pride had taken. And Ushiwaka had even hinted at an even better deal than their previous one. But Oikawa had said no – he had chosen Iwaizumi and his stubbornness and his tendency to overwork and even ignored the news about Iwaizumi’s work problems – the lawsuit – being risky to his position in the company, probably also his status and assets. Oikawa chuckled at the fact that it was Ushiwaka-chan of all people who made him realize just how deep he was in.

Because Oikawa couldn’t run away from the truth anymore – he was in love with Iwaizumi Hajime. With one last exhale into his pillow, the exhaustion following his not-so-sober condition made him fall asleep quicker than he had imagined, and Oikawa fell asleep with Iwaizumi as the last thing on his mind and a tiny smile on his lips.

 

***

 

After getting drunk and fucking up severely the night before, Oikawa did as any sane person in their mid twenties did when they wanted to forget their problems: drank them away. So Oikawa called some old friends from college that he _never_ talked to unless he wanted to get blackout drunk without people asking questions (Kenma wasn’t really a party person and Mattsun and Makki knew him too well to let him go out and get drunk without explaining himself), and tonight he wanted to do just that – get drunk, not explain or face his problems.

It was at times like this that Oikawa felt extra bad about himself. He knew he wasn’t right, he knew he could _probably_ make Iwaizumi forgive him for last night, but he didn’t _want_ to. Oikawa had accepted a long time ago that he was a petty person – he had a tendency of holding grudges, as proven by his anger towards Ushiwaka as well. Of course, Iwa-chan would never do that to Oikawa, he was different and kind and Oikawa knew he cared about him, but he didn’t know exactly to what extent and that bothered him. Iwaizumi _had_ messaged him last night about getting home safely, but he hadn’t made any move to contact Oikawa further the day after, and even if he thought Oikawa was busy (which he wasn’t; he was treating his terrible hangover at home on his sofa), he could’ve at least sent a text message. Oikawa knew he had been unfair last night, but what he didn’t know was where he stood with Iwaizumi.

Ushijima Wakatoshi had been the last step in accepting that he was definitely in love with Iwaizumi, and Oikawa felt terrible about not knowing the state of their relationship right now – even more terrible about the fact that _Iwaizumi hadn’t messaged him yet_.

Oikawa had been invited to a party already and all he had to do was message his old friends about the fact that he would be attending it anyways, happy to have a reason to get drunk, and, even more importantly a diversion from thinking about the night before.

The party was just as boring as Oikawa had expected it to be (the reason he hadn’t planned on going in the first place), but it did have free alcohol and Oikawa was in dire need of just that. The party had started out with everyone happy to see him, giving him attention (and Oikawa relishing in it), but after the alcohol kicked in, every single conversation he had seemed to direct him towards talking about _him_ and at first he felt like people were trying to make him talk of him – asking him about his love life, if he’s seeing anyone at the moment and the like, but when a guy complained about his car being at the mechanic and Oikawa _instantly_ thought about Iwaizumi and his car, he realized the problem didn’t lie with them, but with himself. Oikawa tried pushing the thoughts away, directing the topic to something else (which didn’t help, because things like work reminded him of Iwaizumi as well, even _alcohol_ , because he had been drunk last night and Iwaizumi had bought him that wine he liked when they had been eating together and Iwaizumi could cook, even, and why hadn’t he messaged Oikawa yet?

At four in the morning, Oikawa had had enough. It had been more than 24 hours since they had talked and even if Iwaizumi was mad at him for being an idiot last night, he could’ve at least _messaged_ him. They hadn’t gone for that long without at least one message since… Oikawa couldn’t even remember and he didn’t want to remember. He just wanted a damn message from Iwaizumi, and if he couldn’t get that, he’d get one himself.

Iwaizumi picked up the call after it rang two times.

“… What, Oikawa?” Iwaizumi’s voice sounded hoarse and slightly groggy, and it wasn’t until then that Oikawa realized he had probably been sleeping. Oh.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered, instantly regretting that he had called. Oikawa could hear Iwaizumi sit up in the other end of the line, moving something around in the background.

“Are you okay?” Iwaizumi asked, already sounding concerned and instantly awake – Oikawa was slightly jealous, if he didn’t wake up naturally, it took him a long time to get that energized.

“Noooo,” Oikawa mumbled, dragging on the syllable in a whine, shaking his head even though Iwaizumi couldn’t see. He had gone outside to make the call and the wind was biting his cheeks and stinging under his shirt. He should have brought his jacket.

 

“Are you drunk? Have you been drinking?” Iwaizumi asked, his concern changing into something else. Annoyance? Oikawa couldn’t tell, he felt dizzy and _tired_.

“Nooo,” Oikawa said, trying to sound as not drunk as possible.

“And now you’re drunk calling me,” Iwaizumi said, spelling out the syllables as if Oikawa would’ve had trouble understanding if he didn’t, sounding _amused_ on the other end of the line. “I didn’t take you for the type,” he added, definitely amused.

“I’m _not_ ,” Oikawa tried to argument, grunting in frustration as he combed his fingers through his hair. “But with you I just can’t seem to act normally.” Oh, shit. He just said that out loud. Oh, shit.

“Hm,” Iwaizumi just mumbled as a reply, doing _nothing_ to calm Oikawa’s nerves. “Maybe you’re finally not acting all fake,” he added, chuckling.

“I’m not, I just,” Oikawa was interrupted by a loud hiccup and it took him several seconds to realise that it was his own. His realization was interrupted again by another hiccup and he felt his throat curl together in a very uncomfortable way. “I’m not feeling well,” Oikawa said, not keeping the self-pity away from his voice, sniffling quietly. He leaned in against the wall, letting the phone rest on his shoulder because he was too tired to hold up his arm.

“Where are you? I’ll pick you up,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa heard the sound of keys rustling in the background. Had he moved from his bed? Oikawa shook his head, but the motion made him dizzy and he head to lean up against the wall again, sliding down against it so he could sit on the ground.

“Nah,” He breathed out, feeling too sick to say anything else. If Mattsun was there, he’d comment on how Oikawa had gone from pining for Iwaizumi’s attention to feeling being about to puke in a matter of a few minutes, but he wasn’t and Oikawa couldn’t drink as much as him (at least he could hold more than Makki, but for some reason, Mattsun found it more cute that he had to practically lift his boyfriend home, probably because a drunk Makki was a cuddly Makki).

“Where are you?” Iwaizumi asked, ignoring Oikawa’s weak protest. Oikawa _did_ want to see Iwaizumi but not under these circumstances. Oikawa had wanted to walk into the room with dignity, looking amazing with a fresh blow dry from the hairdresser and his best shirt and smelling like a field of flowers, not like vodka and Fanta Exotic. Oikawa gave Iwaizumi the address anyway, impressed in himself that he could remember it (since he had searched for it not once, not twice, but three times, on his way there – Oikawa hated the suburbs). “That’s closer than I thought, I’ll be there in 10,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa swallowed a lump in his throat, which really wasn’t his best idea that night, since his mouth tasted like beer and weirdly acidic. Then again, it wasn’t his worst idea either – even though Oikawa didn’t feel terrible about it now, he knew he was going to regret calling Iwaizumi the day after – because calling someone at four in the morning is never a good idea, _especially_ when you’re drunk.

 

The car Iwaizumi picked up Oikawa in was different than the one from the day before, and Oikawa vaguely remembered that he had mentioned having an Audi that he used more often. Oikawa didn’t mind that, though, because he’d rather puke in the Audi than the sports car and Iwaizumi seemed less careful with this one, opening the door to the passenger side and helping Oikawa inside when he arrived. An old friend had helped Oikawa outside – after she had promised Oikawa not to tell Iwaizumi that he had spent the time waiting for his arrival with his head down a toilet – and discreetly handed Oikawa a plastic bag if he suddenly felt the need to puke – to that explanation, Iwaizumi looked slightly wary, sending his car a worried look, but he quickly turned his attention back to Oikawa, thanking the girl for helping him and then returning to the car and putting the key in the engine, shooting a look at Oikawa.

“So,” Iwaizumi simply said, turning on the engine but making no move at driving.

“So,” Oikawa mimicked him, staring at the plastic bag in his hands. He had a glass of water before leaving, but he still had a terrible taste in his mouth. Iwaizumi wasn’t going to kiss him in this state, right?

“Is there a reason you called me tonight?” Iwaizumi asked, turning his attention to the road in front of him as he finally drove away from the place. Oikawa furrowed his brows, keeping his attention at the road in front of him in fear of getting nauseous again. With a sigh, Oikawa leaned to the side, resting his face on the car door window.

“Why don’t you care about me?” Oikawa asked, his voice little, sounding more miserable than he had planned for.

“Do you think I’d pick you up at five in the morning if I didn’t care about you?” Iwaizumi asked, and Oikawa looked at the clock in the dashboard in front of Iwaizumi, which, as he had said, indicated that it was almost five am.

“Shit,” Oikawa mumbled, hiding his face in his hands.

“Shit?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa could _hear_ the smile in his voice without looking up, but when he did, he was proven right by an amused smile.

“I drunk called you at almost five am,” Oikawa said, shaking his head. “This is your fault, because you didn’t contact me after yesterday,” Oikawa said defensively, looking out the side window and crossing his arms stubbornly.

“Huh? I thought you were mad at me,” Iwaizumi said, sounding surprised. “I was trying to give you space,” he added, and when Oikawa turned to face Iwaizumi, he was staring straight ahead, not even glancing at Oikawa. For once, Oikawa didn’t mind that Iwaizumi wasn’t looking at him, because it gave Oikawa a chance to study him in the light of the street lamps they drove past.

“I wasn’t,” Oikawa whispered, staring at Iwaizumi. The white lights made him look fragile and beautiful in a completely different way than the grumpy, strong and tanned Iwaizumi. All the warm colours had been replaced by a palette of cold, contrasting colours, but he was beautiful and Oikawa felt a strange clarity in his drunken state, but once again he was reminded by the fact that he was, in fact, in love with the man next to him. Iwaizumi stopped the car and Oikawa’s unwillingly dragged his eyes to the window, raising his eyebrows in confusion when he didn’t recognise the buildings. “This isn’t where I live,” Oikawa said, turning to look at Iwaizumi. One corner of Iwaizumi’s mouth rose in a sly smile and he shook his head.

“No,” he said slowly, as Oikawa tightened the grip on the bag in his hands. “This is where _I_ live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anger. aNGER. the 'drive' part especially it was supposed to be soft and awkward but NICE and iwa and UGHH you know when you're driving at night and there's a whole other atmosphere like you're a completely different place and time and everything is SEPARATEd from reality but bleH
> 
> honestly, this fic has turned into a "if you don't read it, there aren't any mistakes there!! just update the story without even skimming it for typos" for me. I'm so sorry. But, uh, once again, I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter. XD since.. they'll be alone together.. in a bed..


	11. The course of a day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Later,” Oikawa managed to mumble, unsure if Iwaizumi even heard him as he walked out the bedroom. After a few seconds, Oikawa heard the sound of the main door closing as well and he breathed out, both relieved and saddened by the fact that he was left alone in Iwaizumi’s apartment.  
>  _He was left alone in Iwaizumi’s apartment._  
>  He was left alone in Iwaizumi’s apartment with no one to keep an eye on him, no one to make sure that he didn’t snoop around, got to know Iwaizumi better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, the story is rated mature and, uh, there's a mature scene in it.  
> I mean, the scene probably isn't mature. I really shouldn't write smut. I apologise if it's cringe-worthy. 
> 
> To my defense it is currently 6:20am

When Oikawa woke up, his head felt ten times heavier than normally and a streak of sunshine peeped in through the ceiling-to-floor windows from a place that the curtains didn’t cover. There was an empty bucket on the floor next to the bed and, while Oikawa usually had an easy time going from asleep to completely awake, his headache made it take a while for him to remember that he did _not_ have a window that tall or a bed this comfortable. He sat up quickly, which he instantly regretted when his head started throbbing in pain and a wave of nausea fell over him.

“Ugh,” he whispered, massaging his temples with his index- and middle finger. The room was bigger than his, airy and furnished with dark, sleek furniture, but not exactly in a personal style – it looked more like something out of a lifestyle magazine. He was in Iwaizumi Hajime’s apartment (unless he had more to drink than he thought last night and remembered wrongly, if so, he had absolutely no idea where he was).

The sound of someone – Iwaizumi – clearing his throat shifted Oikawa’s attention and eyes towards the door and, as he had expected, it was Iwaizumi who stood leaned up against the door frame, smiling.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, sounding equal parts amused and sympathetic. Oikawa shot a glance to the bucket and realized _why_ it was there.

“Oh, god. Did I puke?” he asked, his voice slightly husky, and he honestly couldn’t tell if it was just because he had just woken up or because he had been drinking last night. His mouth tasted slightly bitter like a bad beer.

“No,” Iwaizumi said, smiling. “But you did say something about doing so at the party,” he added, chuckling. Oikawa shook his head, combing his hair away from his face with his fingers spread. “Also, you said – and I quote – ‘ _don’t tell Iwa-chan I told you that’_ ,” Iwaizumi chuckled, and Oikawa had to lean forward so the hair that he had just pushed away from his face fell down, covering his blushing face again.

“Oh my god,” Oikawa whispered.

“I have to go to work,” Iwaizumi said, and then Oikawa noticed that he was already fully clothed in slacks and a button-down for work, a cup of coffee in his hand. When Iwaizumi realized that Oikawa was staring at it, he lifted it up and took a sip before continuing. “I assume you’re hungover based on the amount of alcohol you had last night,” he said. “I made coffee, but I’m still unsure of how you take yours,” Iwaizumi stopped in the sentence and smiled as if he was remembering something nice. Oikawa’s own thoughts fell on their first meeting – Iwaizumi making fun of his order, and he probably wasn’t that far off, considering the topic of their conversation right now. “I don’t even know if you like the taste of coffee. I have sugar and milk, though,” he said, chuckling. Oikawa stuck out his tongue.

“I can drink normal coffee,” he said, wrinkling his nose. He wasn’t going to add that he only liked it with a high amount of sugar and milk, since he could just make that _after_ Iwaizumi left without being made fun of for it.

“I didn’t make any food for you, since I don’t really know what specific hangover food you’re into,” Iwaizumi said, looking down at his watch, probably to indicate that he was on his way out. “I do have the ingredients to make a bowl of ramen, but,” Iwaizumi turned to look at Oikawa, an eyebrow raced. “Knowing your cooking skills, I think it would be best for us all to put out a pack of instant noodles on the counter instead,” he said. Oikawa grimaced, feeling slightly insulted, even though Iwaizumi’s friendly banter was a huge step up from where their relationship had been the day before. Oikawa had been wallowing in self pity at this time on the day before, partly because of his hangover and partly because he was certain he had ruined his chances with Iwaizumi, but now he was _in his home_. And he had been nice enough to make coffee and even consider what Oikawa wanted to eat when he woke up. Oikawa instantly forgave him for insulting him (even if he was telling the truth – Oikawa usually just used instant ramen so he couldn’t even make that properly himself).

“You’re a hero, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, his voice coming out as a weird mix between his usual light tone and the still husky strain, probably (definitely) from his drinking last night. He hoped it’d go away quickly through the day – maybe that cup of coffee would really help.

“I’ll be back around afternoon time – not much later than lunch, I think. You can stay if you like,” Iwaizumi said, smiling at Oikawa before taking another sip from his coffee and turning towards the other side of the door.

“I’m not getting a goodbye kiss?” Oikawa asked coyly, the strain in his voice making it sound like he was deliberately making it several octaves lower. He instantly covered his mouth when he realized what he had said, cursing himself in his mind again – real, fucking smooth. He had _just_ gotten back in Iwaizumi’s good graces – or at least he hoped so. Then again, he did so by drunk calling him and making a fool out of himself, so maybe he _was_ actually doing this the right way.

Iwaizumi walked over, leaning in over the bed as Oikawa was still lowering his hand form his face, as he kissed Oikawa’s half-open mouth in one swift motion, leaving his whole body buzzing with heat and dragging away instantly. “See you later,” he said with a satisfied smirk, probably enjoying Oikawa’s amazed expression.

“Later,” Oikawa managed to mumble, unsure if Iwaizumi even heard him as he walked out the bedroom. After a few seconds, Oikawa heard the sound of the main door closing as well and he breathed out, both relieved and saddened by the fact that he was left alone in Iwaizumi’s apartment.

_He was left alone in Iwaizumi’s apartment._

He was left alone in Iwaizumi’s apartment with no one to keep an eye on him, no one to make sure that he didn’t snoop around, got to know Iwaizumi better. Oikawa chuckled mischievously, pushing himself out of the bed and draping the sheet over his shoulders as a cape, instantly spotting the clothes that he wasn’t wearing on a chair next to the bed (he distantly remembered taking off some of his clothes and Iwaizumi offering a pajamas but Oikawa declining and cracking a really bad joke about only sleeping naked despite probably having been unattractively drunk – for once, he didn’t mind that he had woken up in boxers and a t-shirt in an attractive guy’s bed).

When Oikawa walked into the kitchen, the first thing he noticed was a fancy espresso machine, but despite that Iwaizumi had made him regular coffee – he would’ve preferred a latte, but of course Iwaizumi didn’t know that – or maybe he did, maybe this was part of some evil plan about getting Oikawa to drink normal, bitter coffee instead of the heavenly goodness he preferred. He poured the coffee into the cup that Iwaizumi had put out conveniently so he wouldn’t have to look for one himself and then poured some of the sugar in it, opening the fridge, which was fully stuffed with fresh food, something that shouldn’t surprise Oikawa after he had seen Iwaizumi’s reaction to the contents of his own fridge. But wasn’t Iwaizumi supposed to be the young bachelor who was too busy with work to cook for himself? Oikawa grabbed the milk and poured some into his coffee, then put it back in the fridge and closed the door. There were no magnets with notes or letters or anything on the fridge and in general, the kitchen looked even more like someone had just moved in, the appliances looking new and fancy and even the newspapers on the table placed nicely in a pile.

Oikawa grabbed a spoon from one of the drawers and stirred his coffee, then grabbing the cup to continue his tour around the home, figuring that he should use the time he had to himself in the apartment before Iwaizumi came home and he couldn’t ogle the thing so obviously.

Taking a sip from his coffee, he grimaced slightly, still slightly unused to drinking the less sweet kind, and that was even after he had put sugar in it, though it wasn’t exactly bad, and while his hangover was surprisingly not-so-bad compared to the one he had yesterday (probably because he had puked before being picked up by Iwaizumi, that usually helped), he still had an ugly taste in his mouth and a slight headache. He fixed the sheet that was about to fall down from one of his shoulders and took another sip before walking out of the kitchen into the living room, a huge open area with more ceiling-to-floor windows, this time without the curtains pulled over, showcasing the amazing view of the city skyline from Iwaizumi’s apartment. The sun wasn’t blinding him through the window yet, so Oikawa assumed that the windows were turned towards east, only making the sun visible in the later part of the day, probably also giving an amazing view of the sunset when that time came. The room itself was, like the rest of the place, decorated like it came straight out of a lifestyle magazine, and Oikawa was pretty sure he knew the sofa group – some European designer that he didn’t remember the name of. His eyes scanned the whole room as he tried to focus on the monetal aspect – how much did the things cost, what did the furnishing say about Iwaizumi as a spender, did he like to brag, etc, but instead the first thing that came to his mind was the fact that all the pictures hanging were actual paintings – and he couldn’t find any picture frames on any of the flat surface’s either. Iwaizumi had absolutely no pictures of friends or pets or even family pictures out and even Kenma, who didn’t want to share toilet paper with Oikawa the first month they lived together, had a picture from his sister’s wedding hanging in his room. The comparison with a lifestyle-magazine house seemed to fit even more than Oikawa had initially thought, and he came to the conclusion that his earlier thoughts about Iwaizumi not being close with his family probably weren’t far off. Walking further into the room, now with sharpened interest, Oikawa started looking through everything he could put his eyes on, looking for any information about Iwaizumi he could find. The plan wasn’t exactly to know more about him as a person than to collect information that could be valuable in their relationship, but Oikawa had already accepted that he was into Iwaizumi; so wanting to know more about him wasn’t unusual, was it?

Maybe going through his stuff without his knowledge was a bit unusual, but their relationship had started out in an unusual manner anyway – nothing had been usual about it. This wouldn’t be the first thing Oikawa held Iwaizumi in the darkness about, and for the first time he started feeling bad about it – not about ransacking his apartment, but about lying to him, about not being honest with his intentions. Of course, Oikawa also felt bad about _liking_ Iwaizumi in the first place – it was pretty much his number one rule of sugar dating, don’t fall in love. Love makes you stupid, love makes you give instead of take – that’s why, in the ideal relationship, it’s the sugar daddy who’s in love, not the other way around. Oikawa wasn’t supposed to be in love. _Love._ They hadn’t even had sex yet. He laughed bitterly, taking another sip of his coffee as he sat down in the couch. Then again, he was at Iwaizumi’s place _right now_ and he was going to come home later – maybe Oikawa could change the fact that they hadn’t had sex tonight. He put down the cup on the sofa table, rubbing his hands together and looking around again. Maybe sex wasn’t the only thing he should cross off his to-do list, though. If they had sex and he still hadn’t told Iwaizumi about his true intentions, about the plan that had started out everything, he would definitely feel even worse – he already felt bad about it, as if he was playing with Iwaizumi in another way than he had been doing earlier. Normally sex was used as a means to an end for Oikawa and even though he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed it – he wouldn’t do it against his own will, but it wasn’t like he was _dying_ to do it normally – this time with Iwaizumi was different. He would also be lying if he said he hadn’t been fantasizing about it for a while now, probably since their first date. Actually, since the day they met (but _only_ because he had been extra sexually frustrated and had taken a long shower that same evening). Oikawa actually wanted it this time, not for Iwaizumi to give him money, but because he _wanted it_. His wish, lust and need were all for selfish reasons and he was completely fine with it – but that only made him feel even worse about not having told Iwaizumi about him being a sugar puppy. And if he really wanted to enjoy their first time doing it, he had to come clear. He had to tell Iwaizumi that he was a sugar puppy before he could get some sugar of his own.

 

Iwaizumi came back a bit later, but with dinner from what he described as his favourite take-away consisting of mostly sashimi and a bottle of wine. Oikawa wanted to tell Iwaizumi right away, but he didn’t want to just speak out mid-dinner and ended up deciding to push it for after dinner, but before fun times. They were eating in the sofa and when they finally finished, Iwaizumi poured up another glass of wine for both of them before taking both of their plates and walking into the kitchen with them, easily cleaning up after their dinner. Oikawa was slightly nervous and even though he had put on his slacks, he felt stripped down and bared, for once insecure about how to start the conversation, of what to say.

Before he could start, though, Iwaizumi sat down on the couch again and leaned in to kiss Oikawa, effectively stopping whatever words were forming in his mouth before they came out. Iwaizumi tasted like wine and everything good and Oikawa couldn’t get enough. They had only shared one bottle of wine so he was probably just imagining the slightly drunk feeling, unless it was caused by the kiss. Oikawa leaned in and reached his arm over Iwaizumi’s shoulder, threading his fingers into the short hair on the back of Iwaizumi’s neck, humming into his mouth. Iwaizumi pulled back slightly, earning a pout from Oikawa, but the second he glanced towards the bedroom door, Oikawa understood and stood up himself. Iwaizumi grabbed his hand as they hastily walked over, and Oikawa realized that it would probably be now or never.

“Iwa-chan,” he said, his voice already deeper than he had expected. Iwaizumi looked up when they had walked inside the bedroom, smiling at him. “I have to tell you something,” Oikawa said. Iwaizumi nodded, taking a step closer and kissing Oikawa – this time not on the lips, but in the corner of his mouth, probably so Oikawa could still talk, but when he started trailing soft kisses down his cheek to his jaw, then his neck, Oikawa hitched for his breath, biting his lip. Shit. “It can wait,” he breathed out, pulling Iwaizumi closer as he took a step closer to the bed, grabbing his head between his hands so their lips could meet again. He couldn’t ruin the moment now by telling Iwaizumi about what he used to be after – he wasn’t after that anymore and he wasn’t after that _right now_. All he wanted was to be closer, closer to him, but even though their bodies were already pressed against each other, the thin layers of their clothes was more than enough distance and he longed for more of him.

Iwaizumi put some distance between them again, walking over to the bedside table and opening the drawer, taking out a tiny bottle and a condom, smiling at Oikawa softly. Oikawa’s eyes widened as he sat down on the bed where Iwaizumi joined him quickly after, sitting next to him. Once again, Oikawa was reminded that he _really_ should tell Iwaizumi, but he wanted it so badly and he was nervous enough about it as it was. He really didn’t want to fuck it up and maybe he was overreacting, but–.

“Are you having second thoughts? We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” Iwaizumi said, his voice confused but gentle.

“No!” Oikawa quickly said, shaking his head violently. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to all this.” Oikawa motioned between them, pushing his bangs out of his face. “I really do like you, and I’m used to it being the other way around…” he mumbled it while looking down at his hands, unsure if he could hold Iwaizumi’s gaze while saying something like that but not wanting to take any chances.

“You’re used to others gaping at you with heart eyes?” Iwaizumi asked jokingly, and when Oikawa nodded with a smirk, he looked like he was annoyed at everyone who had ever been part of boosting Oikawa’s ego.  
“Pretty much,” Oikawa tilted his head, amused.  
“Well, I’m gonna have to disappoint you then, because I’m not going to do that,” Iwaizumi said while shaking his head, looking like the thought of doing so was offensive to him.

“I don’t mind.” Oikawa smiled reassuringly, but he could feel it turn smug in an instance as he spoke again. “It’s not like you’re _completely_ unaffected either,” he said, trailing his hand over Iwaizumi’s crotch, feeling the hard-on through the fabric. Yup, _definitely_ affected. He smirked at Iwaizumi, who just smacked his shoulder and rolled his eyes, turning his torso away from Oikawa.

“Way to ruin the mood, asshole,” he said annoyedly, but Oikawa just chuckled, well aware that he was putting up a façade as much as Oikawa was with making fun of him. They were both nervous about their first time together, despite the fact that they had probably both had their actual first time years before. The knowledge that Oikawa wasn’t alone in feeling like that filled him with confidence, and he leaned in, kissing Iwaizumi again with new fervor, lifting his arms when he felt Iwaizumi pull at the T-shirt he was wearing.

“So impatient,” Oikawa joked and Iwaizumi didn’t answer, instead kissing him slightly harder before pulling his own shirt over his shoulders, too impatient to open up every single button.

Oikawa opened his own trousers, pushing them off but keeping his boxers on for now, instead opting to help Iwaizumi rid his own, pushing down the slacks that he had already opened and then pushing Iwaizumi’s back down so he was lying on the bed. Oikawa acted quickly, crawling over so he was straddling Iwaizumi, then leaning down to kiss him again, but Iwaizumi quickly retaliated, pushing Oikawa to the side and turning them around so it was him straddling Oikawa.

“Pretty sure I’m not the one needing preparation,” he said, wetting his lips with the tip of his tongue before leaning down to kiss Oikawa’s mouth, once again kissing him softly down his jaw, throat, collarbone and then his chest. Oikawa’s whole body shivered involuntarily and Iwaizumi’s deep chuckle only made Oikawa’s abdomen tingle even more at the sensation. When Iwaizumi reached his boxers, he pulled at the elastic band, pulling them all the way down to Oikawa’s knees, then completely off. He looked down at Oikawa’s length with a smirk before leaning down and placing a wet kiss right at the head. Oikawa’s back arched and he grabbed the sheets of the bed to hold himself more still.

Iwaizumi continued the kisses, this time all the way down his shaft and then he moved, positioning Oikawa’s legs and his shoulders so his head was between Oikawa’s legs, before he leaned in and left another wet kiss at Oikawa’s hole, then pressing his tongue against it and Oikawa shivered again, from head to toe, damning himself for being so _sensitive_. Iwaizumi licked at his hole before putting pressure on it with his tongue, readying Oikawa but, even worse, making him desperate for _more_.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered, arching his back and pressing down against Iwaizumi, who simply holds his hips in place, ignoring Oikawa’s call but pressing the tongue further, widening Oikawa from the inside. There was a burning pool in Oikawa’s lower abdomen and he grasped at the sheets for more again, raking his nails down the silky fabric and breathed out, in desperation, when Iwaizumi pulled back his head and grabbed the bottle, pouring lube over his fingers. The first finger came in slow, the sensation cold and slippery and different from the tongue, but Oikawa welcomed it and he felt Iwaizumi push it further inside him. Oikawa tried to focus on his breathing, but it didn’t seem to help, and he couldn’t help but feel annoyed at how Iwaizumi was taking his time at stretching him out instead of hurrying up when it was so obvious that Oikawa wanted – no,  _needed –_ more.

When the second finger came in, Oikawa shivered again, whispering his name again. Not his usual nickname, but his first name. “Hajime,” he said, and for a second the fingers stalled inside him and Hajime looked up at him in wonder, then he smiled. “Hajime,” Oikawa repeated as the fingers inside him scissored, as Iwaizumi felt for the spot, and Oikawa shivered once again when he found it.

“Shit,” Hajime whispered and Oikawa reached a hand down, to touch him, to make him hurry up, to do _something_. Iwaizumi took his hand and intertwined their fingers, pushing at Oikawa’s prostate again, making Oikawa gasp for his breath. Then, he slowly pulled them out and grabbed for his condom, looking up at Oikawa with a gentle, questioning smile. Oikawa nodded, and he opened the foil, pulling the condom over his length and then poured out lube over it, letting go of Oikawa’s hand to smear it out before leaning, positioning himself over Oikawa. He rested his weight on his hands as he looked down, positioning himself between Oikawa’s legs. Oikawa stared at him in half amazement and half anticipation.

When Iwaizumi pushed in the head, Oikawa bit his lip, but Iwaizumi leaned down and kissed him, slowly pushing in further as he took the lower lip that Oikawa was just biting between his own lips and nibbled at it slowly. Oikawa wanted to focus on the kiss but as he was being filled up at the same time, his whole body was tingling as he got used to the sensation. Iwaizumi waited for him before moving, but when Oikawa nodded, breaking the kiss for a moment before meeting Iwaizumi’s lips again, Iwaizumi slowly started moved his hips in a rolling motion, finding a slow rhythm to start out. After some time, he quickened the pace, deepening the kiss with Oikawa as their tongues slid inside each other’s mouths. Oikawa tried to map the inside of Iwaizumi’s mouth, wanting _more_ but feeling perfectly fulfilled at the same time. He yelped when he felt Iwaizumi’s hand around his length, but he didn’t protest, instead moaning into his mouth when Iwaizumi started moving his hand down the shaft, teasing the split on the head with his thumb as he started thrusting in a slightly faster tempo.

Oikawa quivered as his prostate was hit again, this time with Iwaizumi’s cock instead of just his fingers, and for a second Iwaizumi stopped until he realized what just happened. Then he repeated the exact same move, lighting a fire inside Oikawa again.

“Hajime,” he whispered again, between moans, his whole body quivering with heat. “I’m close.”

Hajime simply grunted in reply, keeping the pace and still moving his hand down Oikawa’s length, making it very hard for Oikawa to keep going, but when Oikawa shifted his legs up against Hajime’s, he realized that they were already shaking and that he wasn’t the only one who was close.

Hajime hit his prostate one more time and Oikawa moaned one last time as he came, hot white between their upper bodies that were already covered in a thin layer of sweat and for a second black dots spread across the vision as pleasure flooded over him. Hajime followed right after, groaning into the hook of his neck, jerking to a stop and then going still. They both lied there for a while; Hajime sprawled over Oikawa’s chest, as they caught their breath again.

Hajime could breathe first and pulled out carefully, leaving Oikawa heaving for his breath on the bed still. After disposing of the condom, Hajime threw himself down on the bed next to Oikawa, nuzzling his head into Oikawa’s shoulder. He was a cuddler when he was tired, huh? Oikawa chuckled in a low voice, fighting back a yawn, but quickly realizing that Hajime’s slow breathing was indicating his not-so-awake condition.

Oikawa leaned down to kiss Hajime’s forehead, and then he dragged the sheet over both of them, sighing contentedly as he fell asleep next to his Iwa-chan, his Hajime, his whole body wobbly and tingling from the aftershock of the orgasm.

“Goodnight, Iwa-chan,” he whispered, closing his eyes and letting the sleep take over.

 

Once again, the morning sun woke up Oikawa from his slumber, blinding him temporarily as he hid his face under the blanket.

Two things were different from the morning before. First, the curtains were no longer pulled down, this time out of the way and letting the sun into the room completely, cue Oikawa being blinded when he opened his eyes. Second, Oikawa didn’t have a hangover this time. In fact, he felt _amazing_. Better than he had for days. Weeks. Months, even. He didn’t remember feeling this wonderful right after waking up. He heard the footsteps from someone entering the room and stuck his head out from under his blanket in time to see Iwaizumi sit down at the edge of the bed with a smile on his lips and two cups of coffee in his hands. He gave Oikawa the one with most milk in it, and Oikawa sat up completely so he could drink it without spilling, smiling softly. He took a little sip of the coffee and winced when he burned his tongue, sticking it out at Iwaizumi, who chuckled at him.

“Needs sugar,” Oikawa mumbled and Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

“I put a whole teaspoon in already,” Iwaizumi commented, but his frown turned into a smile after staring at Oikawa’s out for a few seconds. Even Oikawa couldn’t help but smile. “Good morning,” Iwaizumi said, his voice warm and loving.

“Morning,” Oikawa mumbled, taking another sip from his coffee, this time more carefully.

“So…” Iwaizumi said, drinking from his own cup. Oikawa looked up curiously, noticing how Iwaizumi wasn’t looking at him.

“So,” Oikawa mimicked him, looking at the other man in expectation.

“My friend and his boyfriend invited us out for lunch,” Iwaizumi said, scratching the back of his head with the hand that wasn’t holding his coffee. “Sawamura Daichi, you’ve met him,” he said.

“Sawamura Daichi,” Oikawa said, looking out the window as he got used to the light. “Lunch, you say… Wait, today?” Oikawa’s head snapped towards Iwaizumi and he looked at him in confusion when the other man nodded, smiling apologetically.

“Yeah. I sort of already said yes,” Iwaizumi said, laughing nervously.

“I have to shower. And change my clothes,” Oikawa said, already crawling towards the edge of the bed, even though he didn’t know what time it was or when they were supposed to meet. Iwaizumi was officially taking him out on a double date. With his friend. Sawamura Daichi. Oikawa remembered him, but he didn’t have a clear image of his personality, and while he did hear Iwaizumi mention the word boyfriend, he hadn’t expected Sawamura Daichi to be gay.

“Also… Last night was nice,” Iwaizumi said, smiling shyly, looking down at the cup in his hands instead of up at Oikawa. Oikawa lifted an eyebrow, looking away in embarrassment himself as he bit his lip, remembering the night before.

“I agree,” Oikawa mumbled, smiling softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am sorry.  
> As per usual, it's completely unedited, I honestly didn't even bother with skimming this one through for typos, bc then I would chicken out of posting it and I wanted to just get this chapter over with. XD One day I will learn how to write good smut (that day is not today).
> 
> Also, daisuga up next chapterrr~  
> They were actually supposed to be in this chapter, but I decided not to write more than 10 pages per chapter and I don't know how long the daisuga scene will be and it fits better to the next chapter anyway.  
> Hope you enjoyed despite my atrocious attempt at smut! I'm going to go the fuck to sleep now, goodnight! 
> 
> Also, thank you so much to everyone who has given me kudos, bookmarked the story, recommended to others and written comments. I am so damn grateful, okay!!! love u


	12. Finishing the game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After putting down the menu, Oikawa looked up to see Iwaizumi talk to a dark haired man that he instantly recognised as Sawamura Daichi, the guy he had already greeted when they had their first lunch together. Meanwhile, someone had somehow sneaked up on Oikawa and sat down next to him. As he quickly whipped his head over to inspect the newcomer, he couldn’t help but gape. The silver hair, the dignified yet relaxed way of bearing himself. The charming smile that didn’t look one ounce forced and the warm brown eyes that curiously looked over Oikawa, reading him, Oikawa realized.
> 
> “Sugawara Koushi?” Oikawa asked in disbelief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, I've been moving stuff and struggling with actually writing the damn chapter, because I love daisuga so much and I'd just like to apologise to them and probably rewrite this one day when I actually know how to write these characters.

Oikawa had decided to tone it down, so he only showered quickly, did his hair, put on moisturizer and then chose a simple outfit consisting of dark jeans, a wine red cashmere jumper and white sneakers (Saint Laurent had a sale and he he had just got paid, he was _weak_ , okay?) after Iwaizumi told him that the restaurant was casual. Oikawa felt oddly comfortable with just looking like this, knowing that Iwaizumi had accepted him, hell, even _wanted_ him when he looked even worse the day before. He didn’t really feel like he needed to dress up and when Iwaizumi gave him the elevator look and smirked in satisfaction, Oikawa had to catch his breath and for a second he felt like a high school girl in love. It was so _nice_ , so simple.

Of course, the truth was that it _wasn’t_ so simple. Last night, Oikawa had backed out of telling Iwaizumi his secret last minute and if he was being honest with himself, taking the easy way out had made him doubt again. Should he really tell Iwaizumi? He knew that the other man really liked him now, and he knew he valued honesty – but he also knew that Iwaizumi had been somewhat dubious and bordering to stingy whenever he had to pay for Oikawa. He just wasn’t cut out to be a provider and even though Oikawa loved the fact that he was treated like an equal, he also missed the time where his suitors would jump at the chance to spend money on him, give him a little extra for a cab home and in general just spoil him rotten. Iwaizumi was more like a parent who wanted to serve vegetables to his child, telling it that too much sugar would just, well, rot his teeth. Oikawa always had a sweet tooth.

But the fact that he knew Iwaizumi valued honesty was also a bad thing – maybe he wouldn’t see Oikawa’s corageous confession as a good thing, but instead focus on the fact that he lied and maybe Iwaizumi didn’t like Oikawa enough to look past the fact that he was a sugar puppy. There was a risk that Iwaizumi would break up with him straight away and honestly, Oikawa didn’t know if he wanted to take that risk. He had chosen to have sex with Iwaizumi before telling him the truth and knowing that he _actually_ liked Iwaizumi made him feel guilty and even undeserving. If he kept going without telling Iwaizumi it would eat him up inside, but the idea of losing him after all this was something he didn’t even want to imagine. On top of that, he felt bad about having sex with Iwaizumi without telling him first, Oikawa felt like he was leading him on (and he was, sort of) and the move made it look like he had cared more about the sex than about love – hell, even more than he cared about the sugar dating, the money. He wasn’t just bad at following his brain, he was also bad at following his mind. In fact, he was acting more like a sugar daddy than anything else – only thinking with his dick. It was a dick move and for once, Oikawa actually felt bad about acting like one. It would have been so much easier if he just weren’t in love with Iwaizumi.

”Oi, are you spacing out?” Oikawa looked up when Iwaizumi spoke and realised that he had already parked the car.

”Ah! I was just thinking about Iwa-chan’s nice arms,” Oikawa said jokingly – not that he didn’t appreciate them, but his body was far from what had been on Oikawa’s mind. Not that Oikawa minded the change of mental image… ”I love men with good bodies,” he added.

As he licked his lip, enjoying the blush that was growing in Iwaizumi’s cheeks, Iwaizumi playfully swatted him on the shoulder with the back of his hand, rolling his eyes as he turned off the engine, pulling the key out. ”You only want me for my body,” Iwaizumi joked, not making any move towards walking out of the car. Oikawa assumed that they had come in good time, probably because he had been quicker at dressing up than Iwaizumi had expected.

”No, I only want you for your money,” Oikawa joked back without thinking, but froze the same second the words had left his mouth. Shit. Fuck. Fucking shit. Iwaizumi had tensed up as well, and Oikawa knew he had to say something to break the silence, but he couldn’t look away from Iwaizumi’s unamused – in fact rather alarmed – eyes and no words came to his mind.

”You know I’m kidding right?” Oikawa finally forced out, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

”… Whatever,” Iwaizumi said, shrugging it off and Oikawa realised he didn’t sound mad, but it was obvious that he definitely wasn’t unaffected. Shit. Oikawa instantly leaned in over the seats, grabbing Iwaizumi’s shoulders when he realised that he had put his hand on the door, about to walk out of the car.

”Iwa-chan, I was kidding! _As if_ I wanted you for your money, you don’t even pay for my coffee,” Oikawa lied, still in a teasing tone, but he could easily see that Iwaizumi didn’t feel any better. And neither did Oikawa. “If I only wanted you for your money, I would’ve moved on a long time ago,” Oikawa added, not really knowing the reason why he’d say that. And he told himself that it was a lie, simply to stop the suspicion, to make Iwaizumi feel better, but he was also aware that it’s partly true; he never would’ve stayed if he had only been in it for the money. But Oikawa knew that the moment you accepted that you’d stay with someone without getting paid, that was the moment you wouldn’t get paid any longer – sugar daddies (and mommies) didn’t want to pay if they didn’t _have_ to. And Oikawa liked Iwaizumi, but he wasn’t ready for a normal relationship.

He realised that some part inside him had assumed that, when he told Iwaizumi, he’d simply go ‘ _Oh, okay, I don’t mind having a relationship like that’_. But Oikawa already knew that Iwaizumi wouldn’t react like that – he had just made it clear with himself that he wasn’t cut out to be a sugar daddy by reacting like that to Oikawa’s joke. And honestly, Oikawa didn’t mind. Maybe that was exactly why he liked him. Maybe he liked the challenge. He just knew that getting Iwaizumi to pay for him was so much more fulfilling than anyone else doing it.

“I know, I know, you just have a terrible humour,” Iwaizumi said, reaching up and messing Oikawa’s hair, then using the same hand to loosen Oikawa’s grip around his shoulders.

“Let’s go get lunch, shall we?” he asked, smiling at Oikawa, the uncomfortable tension from before having vanished – for a second Oikawa wondered if Iwaizumi had really just gotten over it or he was a better actor than Oikawa had thought. After staring down Iwaizumi for a moment, Oikawa felt like the smile was as authenticated as possible and he nodded, unable to stop from smiling broadly back at him.

“Yes! I can’t wait to meet your friend!” he chirped, opening the door in his own car and stepping out after Iwaizumi.

“Oh, you’re going to _love_ his boyfriend,” Iwaizumi added, smiling knowingly. Oikawa raised an eyebrow, wondering who it could be, because from what he had noticed about Daichi, he seemed to be quite a simple man and Oikawa probably wouldn’t have guessed that he wasn’t straight – then again, it had been the same with Iwaizumi. Oikawa wasn’t going to underestimate his friend just because he wasn’t as… loud from the first meeting; like Bokuto Koutarou or Lev, or because he hadn’t left an impression like Kuroo or Akaashi Keiji. He followed Iwaizumi inside the restaurant, trying to imagine the type Sawamura Daichi would date.

The restaurant was laidback, stylish and obviously more expensive than it was leading on. Oikawa knew those places already, the ones where everyone acted like they didn’t care about money but still didn’t mind paying double the regular price for a glass of coke. Not that he minded going there, in fact he felt right at home, since he had always been going for sort of that image, the ‘I have more money that I’m leading on’-thing, since he _definitely_ didn’t, but if he was too obvious about looking wealthy, people would ask and that was the opposite of what you wanted – instead, he had always been going for a ‘I’m used to luxury, but I don’t talk about it’-image, which just automatically made people treat him with such respect. Like it was natural to give him luxury. And Oikawa didn’t mind at all. Oikawa followed Iwaizumi to the bar and sat down, waving at Iwaizumi to show him that it was okay to take the phone he was holding up – Oikawa knew Iwaizumi was busy with work and he knew this meeting with his friend slash colleague was a way to try and mix work and spending time with Oikawa. And really, Oikawa wanted to be patient with him, so instead he turned his attention to the menu card, not because he was going to order anything before Iwaizumi’s friends would come, but out of habit – checking out the price to see just how much was going to be spent was so ingrained in his way of thinking, of acting, that he hadn’t even thought twice about the action. After putting down the menu, Oikawa looked up to see Iwaizumi talk to a dark haired man that he instantly recognised as Sawamura Daichi, the guy he had already greeted when they had their first lunch together. Meanwhile, someone had somehow sneaked up on Oikawa and sat down next to him. As he quickly whipped his head over to inspect the newcomer, he couldn’t help but gape. The silver hair, the dignified yet relaxed way of bearing himself. The charming smile that didn’t look one ounce forced and the warm brown eyes that curiously looked over Oikawa, reading him, Oikawa realized.

“Sugawara Koushi?” Oikawa asked in disbelief. Said man smiled broadly, lighting up the whole room, reminding Oikawa just whom he was talking to.

“That’s me,” Sugawara said, shrugging off Oikawa’s shock humbly, his cheeks turning slightly rose-tinged. Even his fucking blush was cute.

“You’re a _legend!_ Why did you disappear from the–,” Oikawa said, but then pausing mid sentence. “What happened?” He reformulated his question, quickly glancing around to see if anyone heard, even though he hadn’t actually said too much.

With an excited smile, Sugawara Koushi lifted his hand, showcasing the ring that adorned finger.

“Holy crap,” Oikawa said out loud, covering his mouth instantly after one of the waiters shot him a look. “Oh my god,” he then said, leaning in to get a better look as Sugawara let him inspect it.

“Yup!” Sugawara smiled in excitement, raising his light grey, almost white eyebrows and putting down his hand.

“I know that’s a big rock,” Oikawa said, leaning back as Sugawara had let his hand fall to his side again, and he licked his lips, wondering how he could ask without it coming out rude. “But why settle down with him of all people? You’re obviously still one of the strongest players in the game,” Oikawa said, giving Sugawara a not-so-subtle once-over. Sugawara tilted his head to the side, his knowing and charming smile only confirming Oikawa’s words. He was very aware that he still knew the hustle.

“Love,” he replied, is smile becoming even bigger. “Oikawa, I grew up. I left the game. Actually, I’d say I _finished_ it. I won,” he said, but after that, their conversation was cut short when Iwaizumi and Daichi came over. Sugawara seemed to brighten immediately as his eyes fell on his boyfriend – no, _fiancé_. When Oikawa looked at them, his first thought was ‘waste of potential’, not because he didn’t think Sawamura Daichi deserved an amazing boyfriend, but because Sugawara had _so much potential_ and still chose to settle down, but when he felt Iwaizumi’s hand rest on his back, the thought vanished instantly, filled my fuzzy, less materialistic ones, and he turned to smile at his date. Winning the game sounded pretty nice, actually.

“Ah, Sugawara-san,” Iwaizumi said, looking at Sugawara as he greeted him.

“I told you to just call me Suga,” Sugawara – _Suga_ – said, sending Iwaizumi a charming smile.

“Of course, sorry,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa couldn’t help but smile. Iwaizumi hadn’t even started calling him anything else than his last name (except for the occasional ‘dumbass’) and Oikawa still fondly remembered his reaction to when Oikawa made up a nickname for him on the get-go. He just wasn’t the type of person to give nicknames. Maybe Oikawa should be happy about the few ones he got, even if they included swear words.

“Ah, I still have somewhat of a headache,” Suga complained, turning to his boyfriend with an innocent frown as he rested his head on Daichi’s shoulder. Daichi blushed slightly at the closeness – Oikawa was aware that they were in public, but they were getting _married_ , the man must have got used to his own fiancé’s tricks.

“Ah, you should get something refreshing then,” Iwaizumi said, waving over a waiter who was polishing wine glasses in the bar. The man quickly came over and Iwaizumi turned to look at Suga. “Sparkling water as usual, or?” he asked, and Suga nodded with a little smile. Iwaizumi turned to the waiter who nodded, showing that he had gotten the order and quickly turned to pick up some for him.

“Stop buying my fiancé drinks, Iwaizumi,” Daichi joked, and both Iwaizumi and Suga laughed. Oikawa just raised his eyebrows, turning to look at his boyfriend. Was that a normal occurrence? He turned to Sugawara, who winked at him, and Oikawa couldn’t help but smile in disbelief. If it had been anyone but him (Daishou Suguru, for example) Oikawa would have seen that as a display of power or a challenge, but with Sugawara it had seemed so simple – actually, Oikawa was unsure if he had even done it on purpose. It simply came to him, and while Oikawa had moments like that himself, where he just acted like, well, _himself,_ and people would automatically just offer to buy him stuff, as if it was natural to do. Oikawa liked those moments the best, but he didn’t enjoy seeing it happen in front of him, especially not when his Iwa-chan was the victim of it – and it definitely didn’t enjoy watching his Iwa-chan buying something refreshing for someone who was so… _refreshing_ seemed like a fitting word, actually. Oikawa felt slightly silly for feeling so competitive, especially when he actually liked Suga _plus_ he was already engaged. Like he had said, he had already finished the game, so why act like he was a threat? Oikawa took a deep breath and pushed away the thoughts, remembering that he was on a _double date_ with his boyfriend and an engaged couple, not in the sugar bowl currently fighting with fists and claw for the best sugar daddy. Oikawa was already over that part of the game. He turned to look at Iwaizumi who was still looking at Daichi and Suga, frowning in confusion. Maybe quitting the game didn’t mean giving up. Maybe it meant _winning,_ if he actually gained something – someone – from it.

“ _Fiancé?”_ Iwaizumi asked, staring at Daichi and Suga. Oikawa instantly returned to reality, chuckling at his – once again – extremely oblivious boyfriend. Had Suga actually told Oikawa before Daichi, Iwaizumi’s _friend_ , had told him? Oikawa wondered if Suga had already figured out that he’d get weird and told him about the engagement to show that there was no reason to worry. He turned to look at Suga, who chuckled at Iwaizumi’s surprise. “Congratulations!” Iwaizumi said, walking the few steps over to hug both men, closing the distance between them almost instantly and he was back next to Oikawa in less than a minute.

Then, the waiter had handed Suga his glass of sparkling water, directing them over to a vacant table with room for four people, Suga and Daichi on one side, Oikawa opposite Suga and Iwaizumi opposite Daichi on the other side. The same waiter quickly came over with menus for them and drinks orders. Oikawa ordered a coke, whereas Iwaizumi and Daichi both ordered beer.

When the waiter left, Oikawa turned his attention to the menu, but his eyes didn’t miss Daichi reach over and take Suga’s hand under the table. He held up the menu to hide his face as he stuck his tongue out at Iwaizumi, nodding towards them so Iwaizumi could see their lovey dovey act as well. Of course they were the kind of couple that acted like they were on their honeymoon period constantly. Or maybe it was because their honeymoon was actually coming up – since they were apparently engaged already. Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi again, trying to imagine a wedding with him. His first mental image was of Iwaizumi in a white dress with a veil and he couldn’t help but chuckle, earning a curious glance from his imaginary bride as he quickly looked down at his menu again, trying to focus on it. But really, Iwaizumi _would_ look amazing in a smoking and Oikawa wouldn’t mind going on a honeymoon with him. Not that he was planning their wedding so soon into the relationship. He wasn’t some soppy romantic with naïve ideals about love and dreams of weddings already. He simply acknowledged the fact that his boyfriend would _definitely_ look good in a suit. His boyfriend… The word still felt weird to think of and he couldn’t help but smile, shaking his head to get rid of the thought and trying to focus on the menu once again. He was still on the appetizer-page and hadn’t even found the lunch offers. He flipped through it until he found the lunch menu page. He wasn’t that hungry to be honest, after sneaking in some milk bread when he had been getting ready at home, but the food still sounded delicious, even though he didn’t know all of the western dishes on it. The waiter came back with their drinks and Oikawa still hadn’t chosen. Sugawara ordered something with the word spicy in it and Oikawa knew that he definitely wasn’t interested in that dish, but Daichi ordered something equally uninteresting, and when Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi, the other man raised his brows at him, as if asking why Oikawa wasn’t the one ordering first, but Oikawa just shrugged.

“The soup with pork dumplings and soba noodles,” Iwaizumi ordered and Oikawa smiled, turning to the waiter.

“I’ll have the same, please,” he said, breathing out in relief as he put his menu card in the waiter’s outstretched hand.

The lunch was surprisingly… nice. Despite Daichi and Suga holding hands, they _didn’t_ act like some annoyingly affectionate couple, instead showing off their more casual side. Oikawa quickly learned that Suga had a very… _indecent_ humour, making both Daichi and Iwaizumi red faced in embarrassment several times and Oikawa even had to hold back so he wouldn’t laugh too loud. Sometimes Daichi would look at Sugawara, raise an eyebrow and add something to the joke, sometimes he would just give him a look, and Sugawara himself would chuckle, raising an eye back at him challengingly, and when they had their wordless conversations, Oikawa sort of understood why they fit together so well. He couldn’t help but find himself rooting for them, even though he didn’t see himself as a sappy romantic or someone who enjoyed cheesy couples. Sugawara and Sawamura just felt _right_.

After they had eaten most of their food, Iwaizumi and Daichi had went over to talking business and, to Oikawa’s delight, Sugawara had rolled his eyes very obviously at them, turning to Oikawa with a shrug and a smile, before turning back and clearing his throat to pull them out of the focus.

“Are you going to talk business at the table?” Suga said, raising an eyebrow judgingly at both Iwaizumi and Daichi, who both looked slightly embarrassed.

“We’ll, uh,” Iwaizumi began, turning to Daichi, who looked just as bewildered as him.

“You’ll … go order a beer each that the bar?” Suga asked, glancing at the bar where the waiter had gone back to polishing wine glasses. Both men nodded, pushing their chair backs and standing up to go over to the bar so they could finish the work talk over a beer.

The second they were out of hearing range, Suga turned to him. “It wasn’t before I told him the truth about who I was that it became a _real_ relationship, Oikawa. You can’t base your love life on a lie,” he said. Oikawa stared at him, unsure of how to reply. “If it’s meant to be, he will understand,” he added and Oikawa couldn’t help but swear internally. Because there was really no argument against it – Sugawara was right. Even though not telling Iwaizumi was the easy way out, he couldn’t let it go on like that.

“I know he accepted your lifestyle, but… can he afford it?” Oikawa asked, carefully, almost scared of offending him. Sugawara laughed and a lock of silver hair fell down into his face. He pushed it to the side and smiled at Oikawa softly.

“Do you really think I’d marry someone just for the money?” he asked, and Oikawa shrugged, biting his lip. He had never actually considered marriage. It had never been something he wanted – of course he wanted to experience the ceremony because it was big and expensive and lavish, but the symbolic, the emotional part of marriage had never been something he felt like he needed. Sugawara raised an eyebrow at Oikawa, and he realised that he had probably been looking like he was deep in thought. “I retired from that life. I fell in love,” Sugawara said again, this time more gently. His smile was even softer than before and Oikawa stared at him, wondering if the angels he could hear singing in the background were something he imagined (it wasn’t, but the restaurant was playing weird background music and Oikawa felt like he was at a showcasing of _how to awe everyone around you by simply being you_ whenever Sugawara Koushi smiled). Oikawa reached over to take a sip of his cola and when he did, Sugawara’s smile turned into a smirk. “And the sex is amazing,” he added, obviously not concerned about Oikawa’s health, as Oikawa accidentally inhaled the drink and was sent into a coughing fit. Sugawara simply chuckled, leaning back in his chair with an even more satisfied smirk.

 

After the lunch, Iwaizumi needed to pick something off at his office – “Some of us still have work to do outside office hours, Shittykawa,” – and he had told Oikawa he could drive him home first; home meaning his own home.

“I’d ask you to start dinner, but I really don’t want to unleash you in my kitchen without supervision,” Iwaizumi had said when they were in front of the apartment.

“Mean, Iwa-chan! You should take better care of your precious boyfriend,” Oikawa had teased, pouting at Iwaizumi as he took off his seat belt.

“Nah, my boyfriend doesn’t need to be taken care of,” Iwaizumi said to him, leaning in over Oikawa to open the passenger door for him. Oikawa held in his breath, wanting to lean in and instantly missing the heat he had been radiating and the smell of his cologne when Iwaizumi had leaned back again. “He’s a force to be reckoned with,” Iwaizumi added, before pushing Oikawa’s shoulder in a less than sweet way to get him to walk out the car. Oikawa had laughed it off, but when he had walked up, entering Iwaizumi’s empty apartment, he couldn’t help but smile. What Iwaizumi had said to him was terrible, really. He had indirectly said that he didn’t believe Oikawa needed providing for, which was _definitely_ not the case. Oikawa wanted that, but he still felt a rush of pride over being seen as such by him, as someone independent. Maybe sugar dating had distorted his view on relationships, maybe he wasn’t used to a partner who saw him as an equal; as a force to be reckoned with. Oikawa had thrown himself into Iwaizumi’s bed, inhaling deeply through his nose and enjoying the smell of Iwa-chan surrounding him, and somehow he had fallen asleep, despite the fact that it was still early afternoon.

Iwaizumi had woken him up when he came home, making fun of Oikawa for falling asleep so quickly, and then they had moved to the kitchen, Oikawa sitting in a chair by the kitchen island and Iwaizumi walking around and preparing their dinner, the muffled sound of jazz music in the background and the wine bottle that they had opened earlier setting the mood.

Oikawa had taken a deep breath and then thrown himself out there.

“I have to tell you something,” Oikawa said, staring at Iwaizumi, who slowly put down his wine glass, _finally_ sensing the tension.

“… Yes?” Iwaizumi sad, arching an eyebrow in anticipation, waiting for Oikawa to speak up. They hadn’t been speaking about anything actually important for a while, having just small talked about work and weather and friends, so it was no surprise that Iwaizumi was interested, maybe even confused by the seriousness in Oikawa’s tone.

“I’m … I…” Oikawa started, but he realised he hadn’t really thought of _how_ to say it. “I went after you because…” No, that wouldn’t work. He couldn’t explain it like that. He took a deep sigh and looked up at Iwaizumi again. “I usually don’t do relationships like, well…” he gestured between them and Iwaizumi raised his eyebrow even further, confusion obvious in his expression. “I am usually into what is normally described as a _mutually beneficial relationship_ , less feelings, more... Sex and profit,” he said, putting his hands in his lap so Iwaizumi couldn’t see him fidget nervously under the table.

“Like… prostitution?” Iwaizumi asked, his voice a bit thin, as if it was about to crack. He looked slightly scared at the aspect and Oikawa furrowed his brows, shaking his head.

“Well, no,” he said, even though he knew there were connections between the two – both could be categorised as sex work and Oikawa certainly didn’t judge others for how they made their money as long as they were willing and no one got hurt. “I guess the most usual term is sugar dating?” Oikawa said, formulating his explanation almost as a question, dragging it out and looking down at one of the candles on the table in front of him, staring at the flickering flame.

“So, you’re a sugar baby,” Iwaizumi said matter-of-factly, and Oikawa winced at the lack of emotion in his voice. When he looked up, he could see that Iwaizumi was still processing it.

“Sugar puppy, but yeah,” Oikawa said, knowing that semantics probably wasn’t the most urgent matter at the moment.

“Oh,” Iwaizumi just replied, raising his eyebrows with an unreadable expression (okay, that was a lie, he looked _shocked,_ first and foremost, but whether or not he was angry or relieved or neutral or even happy was a game of guessing for Oikawa at this point). After an excruciatingly long period of time (like, maybe one and a half minute), Oikawa couldn’t take it any longer.

“It’s okay of you judge me for this, but please say something,” he begged.

“I‘m not judging you,” Iwaizumi said judgingly.

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, wanting to let the silence speak for himself, but even he could see that it was hypocritical not to answer when he had just asked Iwaizumi to do so. “Are you going to leave me?” Oikawa asked, and Iwaizumi’s eyes instantly locked back with his.

“What? No,” he said, as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. Oikawa _finally_ let himself breathe out in relief. “I just… I’m just…” Iwaizumi began, frowning deeply as he looked for words. “I’m not … like that?” he said, formulating his words as a question.

“I know that, and I’m not asking you to be,” Oikawa said, trying to keep his voice as calm as collected as he could – Iwaizumi wasn’t breaking up with him. Iwaizumi wasn’t yelling at him or storming out of the place or telling Oikawa to fuck off. Oikawa bit his lip to hold back the smile, knowing that it probably wasn’t the best time to celebrate when Iwaizumi was still getting over the initial shock – and hey, he didn’t know if Iwaizumi would change his mind later, maybe he just hadn’t accepted the fact yet.

“I mean–, I really can’t be that for you,” Iwaizumi said, leaning in and staring back at Oikawa as if he was telling him some crucial information. Oikawa nodded slowly, giving Iwaizumi a reassuring smile.

“I understand,” he replied, but Iwaizumi shook his head.

“No, you don’t,” Iwaizumi said again. “I promised myself I wouldn’t,” he said, leaning in over the table and staring down, massaging his temples with his middle and index fingers, as if the conversation they were holding was stressing him out.

“I don’t expect you to be,” Oikawa said, keeping his voice calm, and Iwaizumi looked up again. “I just had to tell you the truth,” Oikawa added, biting his lips as he, too, looked away.

“I’m happy you did,” Iwaizumi said, offering Oikawa a little, slightly forced smile. He did look sincere about it. “I guess I should be able to tell you the truth now that you did too,” he said, taking a sip from his wine as if the tiny amount of alcohol would give him some courage. “My parents used to be in a relationship like that… sort of?” he said, looking up in contemplation. “And we were never close, my father believed his only responsibility to his family was to be a provider, and my mother was too busy spending the money he was providing her with,” he said. The way he said it made it obvious for Oikawa that he had little love reserved for his parents.

“Oh,” Oikawa mumbled, looking down. His own upbringing had been pretty much the opposite, but he couldn’t imagine _not_ having his parent – even if it was only his mum – there when growing up. Hell, he was still pretty close to his mum compared to others his age.

“So I really mean it when I say I _can’t_ be that for you. I’m not going to end up like him,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa could simply nod, not knowing what else to say.

After some silence, Oikawa finally spoke up. “My dad left us when I was a kid,” he said, barely louder than a whisper. Iwaizumi looked up, his brows furrowed. “My mum had to work constantly to be able to just have enough for food and a roof over our heads,” he looked up at Iwaizumi and smiled softly. “I’ve always seen providing for others as an act of love,” he added.

“I’m sorry,” Iwaizumi said, leaning in and grabbing Oikawa’s hand. Oikawa let him, but even as he looked down at their hands, he didn’t grab Iwaizumi’s back, instead just letting him hold his own.

“What I’m saying is that… I don’t mind giving you the love you say you need, and I’m not asking you to just change everything you believe in overnight,” Oikawa said, licking his lip as he thought of how to convey his thoughts properly. He had just told Iwaizumi the truth and he hadn’t been turned down instantly, but he still felt like he was walking on eggshells. “But I want our relationship to stay the same,” he said.

Iwaizumi nodded. “I think I can manage that,” he said, smiling softly.

“Also, relationships like that are far more normal than you think,” Oikawa added after a sigh of relief. “Today was a prime example,” he said.

“Today?” Iwaizumi asked, his brows drawn together in confusion.

“Daichi and his fiancé,” Oikawa explained, waving vaguely in the air as if it had been obvious. It _was_ – if you knew what to look after. Iwaizumi, on the other hand, _definitely_ hadn’t noticed, because his mouth fell open in an ‘o’ and he stared at Oikawa blankly for several seconds before shaking his head.

“You can’t be serious,” he said. Oikawa shrugged with a smile.

“Well, it’s not exactly a _traditional_ sugar relationship, but it’s a compromise, I guess,” Oikawa said, his smile growing more and more smug. Then he remembered something else. “And I’m not the only one of us who’s been taking notice of you,” he said, biting his lip as if to hold back the smile. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, confused as ever, but then it seemed like something clicked inside him.

“No,” he whispered and Oikawa couldn’t hold back the howl of laughter as he leaned in over the table.

“Yup, Daishou Suguru is also a sugar puppy, but I’d prefer not to be compared to him,” Oikawa said, his nose wrinkling in dislike as he thought of the image of Daishou Suguru flirting with Iwaizumi. When he looked at Iwaizumi, he was shocked to see that his confused expression has turned into something else, something _different_. Alarming. A knowing look.

“Is there maybe something else you’d like to tell me about Daishou?” Iwaizumi asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a fake-patient smile. Oikawa opened his mouth, then closed it, shaking his head.

“No…?” Oikawa said, his voice slightly shrill and he realised that his lie was unconvincing. Of course there was something else to tell Iwaizumi, but it sounded like he already knew – already knew that Oikawa had sabotaged his attempt at taking Iwaizumi from him. Maybe Iwaizumi wouldn’t mind anymore. Oikawa looked up and was proven right when Iwaizumi chuckled at him, obviously aware of what Oikawa was thinking, and when he opened his mouth, he only proved Oikawa right in his assumptions.

“I know you were the one to scare him away,” Iwaizumi said. “But we were just friends,” he added innocently, and Oikawa stared at him, realising that Iwaizumi, in fact, was that dense. That naïve.

“Wow, Iwa-chan,” he said, shaking his head. “I almost feel sorry for him,” he added, even though that was a blatant lie that even the dense Iwaizumi Hajime could see through.

“He’s not my type anyways,” Iwaizumi said, his smile back in a smirk too smug for Oikawa’s liking. “He’s a bit too selfish and cares too much about his hair,” Iwaizumi said, giving Oikawa a look that he couldn’t decipher. Oikawa nodded enthusiastically, always willing to trash talk his enemies. “And he always tried to make me pay for stuff,” Iwaizumi added, giving Oikawa another pointed look. Then Oikawa realised.

“Hey!” Oikawa said, no, squealed would be a more accurate description. Iwaizumi had just listed off qualities that _Oikawa_ possessed as well and by the look of his smirk, it had been intentional. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at Oikawa and the smile made Oikawa’s mouth dry, and he forgot the insult he was about to spit out as retaliation, instead looking down and already feeling his cheeks burn. “Iwa-chan…” he mumbled instead, pushing his lower lip out in a pout. Iwaizumi stood up from his seat, taking one last sip of his wine glass, emptying it, before he walked over to Oikawa’s side. Oikawa turned around on the chair so his body was pointed against Iwaizumi, and he looked at him in anticipation as Iwaizumi stood in front of him, only inches away from his knees and if Oikawa stood up, pushed himself out of the chair, they’d almost be touching. Iwaizumi reached out a hand for Oikawa to take and smiled teasingly.

“If you have anything else to tell me, you should do it now,” Iwaizumi said, raising an eyebrow, challenging him. Oikawa pouted again.

“I don’t,” he said, feigning offense, but Iwaizumi just smiled even broader, forcing Oikawa to bite his lip to hold back his own smile.

“You sure?” Iwaizumi said.

“I already told you I can’t cook, so…” Oikawa mumbled, and Iwaizumi laughed out again heartily, and then he reached over to cup Oikawa’s face when he had his laughter under control, a smile still on his lips. He grazed Oikawa’s lower lip with his thumb, the one Oikawa was pushing out in a pout and this time Oikawa couldn’t hold back a smile as he looked up at Iwaizumi, finally pushing himself off the chair and standing up so they were even closer.

“No more secrets,” Iwaizumi said, smiling at him.

“No more secrets,” Oikawa repeated after him, smiling right back, before leaning in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's 5:24am, no this is not edited.  
> Yes, I am sort of sorry? I really am. I love Suga and I love Daichi and this does not bring them justice at all, but. Well. Here's the update.
> 
> \- On another note, I'm pretty sure I'm beginning to see the end if it. I mean the story isn't over at all lmao, if you think the confession and Iwa taking it this nicely was suspicious, you're right. It won't just get fixed this easily because right now they are two people with very different needs/wants for a relationship and.. yea. But basically, I hope this story will end up on around 20 chapters and hopefully not more. Thank you for reading and giving kudos and commenting, I love you all so much and I do not deserve it.


	13. Pros and cons(equenses)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oikawa was sort of pissed off.  
> Not at Iwaizumi, not really. He was a bit annoyed, of course, but he felt stupid for thinking that his confession would change anything – he had told Iwaizumi that he wanted to go back to the way it was, and before the confession, he had fought hard to make Iwaizumi pay for him too. This wasn’t something new. This was Iwaizumi acting like he usually did, and Oikawa was pissed off at himself for being so naïve as to think that the small conversation they had would completely change Iwaizumi’s views or way of being. Maybe this was Iwaizumi’s way of showing that it wouldn’t be the case."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! I'm returning to the real world and suddenly all of my 5 real life friends wanted to see me, I am not good at being social. I'm also trying to return to some more livable sleeping patterns since I have 8am classes this semester and I sort of need my 4 hours of sleep to function. But, yeah, here it is!

Once again, Oikawa woke up naturally, this time the curtains were completely covering the window, not letting any streak of sunshine in, making it impossible for him to guess how early (or late) it was. The light that came through the open door from the living room, however, made it a lot easier for Oikawa to find his way around in the room. His clothes were slung over the chair that stood up against the wall, just where he had placed them last night (a night which he remembered with a happy sigh), but he honestly wasn’t in the mood for getting dressed yet, especially not in his clothes from the day before. Instead, Oikawa draped the sheet around his shoulders once again, resembling a cape, as he stood up and walked out. Maybe he should get himself a dressing gown or something to wear in the morning so sheets wouldn’t become his usual morning attire, because he already felt like that could very easily become a habit.

The smell of fresh brewed coffee and eggs instantly reached his nose and Oikawa inhaled deeply through it, smiling broadly as he continued into the kitchen, where Iwaizumi, as he had guessed, was standing fully clothed in front of the oven, cooking something – probably the eggs Oikawa could smell – on a pan. Iwaizumi looked up when he came in and smiled, raising an eyebrow as he let his eyes glide down Oikawa’s clothes (or rather, his use of Iwaizumi’s bed sheets for that same purpose).

“’Morning,” Oikawa said, smiling but instantly after that covering his mouth to hold back a yawn.

“Good morning,” Iwaizumi smiled back, pointing at the pot of coffee and an empty cup already put out for Oikawa to use, before returning his attention to the eggs.

“What are you making?” Oikawa asked curiously, shooting a glance over Iwaizumi’s shoulder to look at the eggs while moving over to take out the milk from the fridge, a fuzzy feeling spreading in his chest as he noticed how he already felt comfortable with walking around in Iwaizumi’s kitchen, taking things out for coffee. Even if it was just for coffee, he felt at home and not like an intruder, and it wasn’t like he actually used his own kitchen at home for cooking either, but it felt nice to just walk around comfortably in a place that wasn’t his own.

“Omelette, western style though,” Iwaizumi said, flipping the thing casually with a spatula as if he did it daily. Oikawa snorted, holding back a comment about Iwaizumi showing off, instead leaning up against the dishwasher, and jumping in surprise when it made a noise, but then placed himself differently so he wouldn’t accidentally press a button with his butt again.

“How exotic,” Oikawa joked, as he looked down at the thing Iwaizumi was cooking, wrinkling his nose when he saw vegetables mixed into the eggs.

“I don’t have to work until lunchtime, if you want to do something,” Iwaizumi said, looking up at Oikawa as he took the pan away from the hob, turning off the heat.

“Do something?” Oikawa asked, raising his eyebrows as several ideas of what they could do all alone in Iwaizumi’s house went through his mind. Iwaizumi just stared blankly at him and the provocative smile slowly fell from Oikawa’s lips. “Okay, okay,” Oikawa said, sticking out his tongue at him.

“Maybe get some coffee and, if you have time, you could take me to my place? I need fresh clothes,” Oikawa said, grabbing the coffee and milk as he walked over and sat down at the bar stool by the kitchen island, pouring up his own coffee. Iwaizumi walked over with the sugar and Oikawa smiled gratefully, putting in two teaspoons and stirring.

“Sure,” Iwaizumi answered absentmindedly, walking over to take out plates for the both of them.

“And maybe,” Oikawa mumbled, leaning down to take a sip of his coffee and putting it down instantly when he almost burned his tongue. “Maybe we should get to know each other better,” Oikawa said.

Iwaizumi took the pan over, cutting up the omelette and putting down a piece on Oikawa’s and his own plate. “What do you want to know?” he asked, sounding more curious than wary. Oikawa took that as a good sign.

“No more secrets, remember?” Oikawa said, grabbing knife and fork and looking up at Iwaizumi. “If we learn more about each other there won’t be any misunderstandings, and maybe we’ll understand each other better. We should talk about family, upbringing and stuff,” he said, bringing the fork to his mouth and eating the first bite of the omelette. It was good, better than he had expected, and after swallowing the first bite, he ate another instantly, turning to look up at Iwaizumi, who was looking at him deep in thought.

“Are you going to share, or do you just want to hear my deepest secrets so you can use them against me or something?” Iwaizumi asked, obviously joking. Oikawa snickered, turning his face away to hide the smile as he put a hand on his chest in fake offense.

“I would _never_ ,” he said, deliberately making his voice sound shriller in affront. Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes, drinking from his own coffee – without milk _or_ sugar, because he was a bitter, bitter man, who liked his coffee to match.

Oikawa had told Iwaizumi something _huge_ last night and Iwaizumi had told him something back. He wanted to know more about Iwaizumi’s upbringing, partly because he needed the information to know if Iwaizumi had any baggage he should be warned about (like the fact that he didn’t like spending money on a significant other, yikes) and partly because _Oikawa wanted to get to know him better._ The second reasoning was a bit too soppy for Oikawa’s own taste, but he was still curious and he decided with himself that it was mostly because Oikawa was meddlesome that way, and Iwaizumi hadn’t even been lying when he had accused Oikawa of being the type of person who got to know people and then used the knowledge against them. That was how he worked; learning people’s weaknesses so he knew what to do if he ever needed to. Not only did Oikawa want to know about Iwaizumi, he also wanted to tell Iwaizumi about himself, also for several reasons. He wanted Iwaizumi to be interested in him as well, like he wanted to know about Iwaizumi. He also wanted to put out one of his strongest cards – the sympathy one, the one that hadn’t worked on Ushijima because, honestly, Oikawa doubted that the man even felt sympathy. He had pretty much perfected his own story, turning it into a mix of ‘feel sorry for me, pay my bills’ and the actual truth. Plus, Oikawa would be lying if he said he didn’t like talking about himself too once in a while, being a sugar puppy meant polishing the mark’s ego, not his own, and Oikawa wasn’t a narcissist for nothing. He chuckled at his own train of thought as he took a sip of his coffee, smiling when he tasted the sweetness from the sugar that had finally spread to the whole drink. Maybe caffeine would do him good. He looked up at the wall clock hanging over the door and raised his brows when he saw that it was only about 9:15. They could probably manage both coffee and a good talk before Iwaizumi had to go to work and Oikawa would have plenty of time to get home and shower before he had to go to work late afternoon. He wanted to spend the night with Iwaizumi again, but he also sort of missed his place – would Iwaizumi mind sleeping at his place? He licked his lips in wonder, imagining Iwaizumi standing in _his_ kitchen cooking breakfast, maybe with nothing but the apron …

Okay, he’d have to think of Kenma as well, then, which would be a problem. Oikawa knew Kenma would probably just ignore Iwaizumi if he woke up to the sight of him half naked, but it would still become awkward and Iwaizumi would be extremely embarrassed. Not that Oikawa minded flustered Iwaizumi, but he actually also wanted to spend time with Kenma – he was Oikawa’s _friend_ too, and Oikawa felt like they hadn’t been hanging together in forever, even though it was only a few days ago. Maybe Oikawa should spend the night at home with his friend – if Kenma was even home – and let Iwaizumi miss him for once. Oikawa smiled, turning to look at Iwaizumi who was close to finishing his eggs.

“We should get coffee at the same place we met,” Oikawa said, smiling broadly.

“Well, I assumed, since that’s, uh, the usual coffee spot,” Iwaizumi said. Oikawa rolled his eyes, leaning in over the table and ignoring Iwaizumi’s lack of attempt at being romantic.

“Do you think of me when you go there?” Oikawa asked, bringing the coffee to his lips and drinking more of it as he waited for Iwaizumi’s answer.

Iwaizumi was suddenly more interested in eating his breakfast than looking at Oikawa, the blush on his cheeks slowly growing more obvious, only making Oikawa more excited. “Yes, but then I get my coffee and the bad taste leaves my mouth again quickly,” Iwaizumi said after some time, and Oikawa leaned back in his seat, rolling his eyes at Iwaizumi’s answer.

 

When they arrived at the coffee shop, Oikawa realised just how far he had come since the last time he had been there. Last time, he had come to talk up Iwaizumi to a date, and now they were, well, going there on a date, but they were _together_. Arriving together, even, and in Iwaizumi’s car, from Iwaizumi’s place, where Oikawa had just spent the night. Oikawa remembered the barista, not as the one who had tried to give him her number, but still as someone on whom the Oikawa Tooru Effect had definitely worked on, because she had blushed and stammered like a schoolgirl in love whenever he had talked to her. Oikawa smirked, turning to Iwaizumi and reaching over to lace their fingers together. Iwaizumi looked down in confusion, but locked their hands, smiling softly at Oikawa as they walked over to the short line of people. Oikawa already knew what he wanted, but he still looked up at the menu, acting like he was thinking about it. When it was finally their turn, Oikawa stepped in, giving the barista his disarming smile.

“A double shot nonfat caramel frappuccino topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, please,” Oikawa said, smiling.

“What size?” the barista asked, scribbling down the order.

“Venti. And my name is Oikawa,” he said, before she could ask for his name. She scribbled it down on the cup and turned to Iwaizumi reluctantly, stealing one last glance at Oikawa, who smiled at her in return.

“A medium Americano for me,” Iwaizumi just said, and when Oikawa turned to him, he was already rolling his eyes disapprovingly at Oikawa’s order. Oikawa just stuck out his tongue at him, turning his attention back to the barista with a smile.

“Are you paying together, or?” she asked, her hand hovering over the screen before tapping in the order. Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi with an expectant smile, but Iwaizumi slowly looked up at him, raising an eyebrow and then shaking his head just once, turning back to the barista.

“No, we’re not,” he said calmly, too calmly. Oikawa stared at him, not trying to hide his confusion as Iwaizumi took out his wallet to pay for himself. Was he serious? He wasn’t even looking at Oikawa so he couldn’t even see or answer Oikawa’s questioning look, and Oikawa was pretty sure that this was very intentional on Iwaizumi’s behalf. When Iwaizumi had paid for himself, Oikawa let out a sigh and fished his own wallet out of his pocket, taking out a bill and paying for his own coffee. It was more expensive than Iwaizumi’s too, of course. Not that _that_ was Iwaizumi’s fault, Oikawa had been aware that the length and complexity of their coffee orders were miles apart, but it was still sort of annoying to him now.

The fact that Iwaizumi refused to pay now also raised other questions – first of all, he was now aware of Oikawa’s wish for him to pay, and him being aware of Oikawa’s plans made it, uh, harder for Oikawa to manipulate him into it. This was pretty much Iwaizumi straightforwardly telling Oikawa ‘I know you want me to do this and I’m still defying your wishes’. Oikawa wanted to roll his eyes at himself, because that was a _very_ one-sided way of seeing it. In a less subjective way, it would still be described as a way of defiance though. This was Iwaizumi telling Oikawa that he _didn’t_ want the same thing Oikawa wanted. And Oikawa was sort of pissed off.

Not at Iwaizumi, not really. He was a bit annoyed, of course, but he felt stupid for thinking that his confession would change anything – he had told Iwaizumi that he wanted to go back to the way it was, and before the confession, he _had_ fought hard to make Iwaizumi pay for him too. This wasn’t something new. This was Iwaizumi acting like he usually did, and Oikawa was pissed off at himself for being so naïve as to think that the small conversation they had would completely change Iwaizumi’s views or way of being. Maybe this was Iwaizumi’s way of showing that it wouldn’t be the case – if so, this was quite an inexpensive way of doing so. Oikawa would rather have to pay for his own coffee than a three-course meal and wine at a fancy restaurant. Even if the coffee shop was an expensive place, Oikawa – and Iwaizumi – knew that he could pay for himself if he wanted. Maybe this was Iwaizumi letting him off easily – or just him being not an asshole and leaving Oikawa hanging with a bill he can’t pay.

Oikawa looked up, thrown out of his line of thought, when Iwaizumi poked him in the side a little more forcefully than needed to get his attention.

“Ouch, Iwa-chan,” he mumbled with a pout, looking up to realize that his drink was ready and the barista was reaching it out to him. “Oh, thank you!” he said, smiling as brightly as he could to her, earning a blush and an incoherent mumble from her, but he turned back to Iwaizumi quickly, not that interested in her, even for the cheap boost of his ego. Iwaizumi was still looking at the barista, coffee already in his hand, and Oikawa noticed that he was frowning. A smirk crawled up the corners of Oikawa’s mouth, as he realised that the effect he had on regular people could be used for more than just random validation from strangers. It could also get his boyfriend jealous. And a jealous boyfriend, who wanted to keep his love interested, would give a lot to _keep_ the interest on him – he’d give money, even. Iwaizumi looked up at Oikawa, raising an eyebrow at Oikawa’s less than innocent smile, but Oikawa just shrugged, taking a sip from the straw and turning to walk over to an empty table. Iwaizumi followed in silence, sitting down next to Oikawa and taking a sip from his own coffee.

“So, you wanted to talk about _family_ ,” Iwaizumi said, turning to look up at Oikawa, putting pressure on the word like it was a joke to him. Oikawa put down his coffee, licking his lip tentatively, nodding slowly.

“Hm-mh,” Oikawa hummed in affirmation, turning his shoulders so he was turned more towards Iwaizumi. “I guess I should go first?”

Oikawa mostly wanted to go first to make Iwaizumi comfortable, but he also didn’t mind going first so Iwaizumi could guilt him into telling some of his story differently – if _he_ was the one starting out, Iwaizumi would look at his own story – and outlook on life, not that Oikawa was naïve enough to expect a simple conversation to change him so drastically – differently afterward.

“So,” Oikawa began, grabbing the straw between his lips and taking another sip before beginning. “I told you my dad left me,” he said, keeping the bitterness he felt out of his tone. “And back then, my mum didn’t have a job that gave enough to pay the expenses of a single mother,” Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi, who looked straight back at him with a soft, encouraging smile. “She spent all of her time working her ass off so I could have a good childhood,” Oikawa said, looking down at his coffee, remembering his mother’s love and feeling affection rush up in him, mentally noting down that he should call her soon, maybe ven invite her to the city. He looked up at Iwaizumi, imagining presenting him to his mother and chuckling at the image. “So, yeah, I don’t see providing for others as some sort of grand scheme to make sure you don’t have to be there for them emotionally too or something,” Oikawa said, waving his hand in the air and looking up at Iwaizumi, forcing up a smile.

“I’m sorry,” Iwaizumi said again, his eyes finally falling from Oikawa’s as he looked away. Oikawa instantly felt bad about it when it dawned on him that his comment could be seen as a dig at Iwaizumi.

“It’s okay,” he said anyway, his smile less forced this time, when Iwaizumi finally looked up at him again. “Your turn,” Oikawa then added, lifting his drink up to take a sip again.

“Uh,” Iwaizumi said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “You’re probably gonna think I’m whiney now, but, like, I’m aware that I’m privileged,” he said. Oikawa bit his lip, waiting for Iwaizumi to continue, not really sure he should reply to that. “My father was there, but we were never close,” he said, putting his arm down again and looking down at his hands. “He worked a lot – not because we needed it, like your mother, but because he was a workaholic, I guess. It always got awkward when he was at home,” he said. Oikawa tried imagining it and, honestly, it wasn’t that hard. The wealthy family with an absent father wasn’t exactly a rare trope and Oikawa felt a bit bad about finding it sort of amusing. He just hadn’t really expected it to be so realistic. He couldn’t really imagine being around his parent and still not being close to them – his mum had been his best friend through most of his life.

“Honestly, I didn’t even cry when he died,” Iwaizumi said without emotion and Oikawa’s eyes were pulled in his direction again at the harsh words, but Iwaizumi was looking down with furrowed brows. Iwaizumi was fidgeting with his watch and while the action seemed absentminded, Oikawa noticed his eyes on the watch too.

“So, that was his watch?” Oikawa asked, nodding at it. Iwaizumi laughed bitterly, or at least far from happily. Oikawa remembered the watch – of course he did. He had noticed it the first time they met, an extremely expensive Patek Philippe, one that, from what he knew, was usually passed down.

“Yeah. Of course, the last thing I got to him was also an indicator or wealth, nothing that actually showed closeness or personal connection whatsoever,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, letting his arms fall down his sides and his hand slid down under the table, away from eyesight. Oikawa felt the urge to comfort him, which was ironic, since the opposite had been the purpose of this conversation – it had supposed to be Iwaizumi wanting to make Oikawa feel better, not this. But Oikawa still stood up from his seat, took a step over so he was close enough to Iwaizumi to lean in, and then he kissed him.

The kiss was soft, pretty lame compared to the fireworks that Oikawa normally felt when kissing Iwaizumi, but different in a way that was needed right now. It was _tender_ and it was important, because Oikawa wasn’t kissing Iwaizumi because he wanted something from him or even because Oikawa wanted to. It was because _Iwaizumi_ needed it, or at least Oikawa would if he was in his place. It was a comforting kiss and Oikawa did it for him, because he cared about him. When he pulled back, moments later, Iwaizumi smiled at him softly and Oikawa inhaled deeply in relief, smiling back before sitting down in his own chair again, reaching his hand over. Iwaizumi seemed to understand the action after a second of staring at it, lifting his own hand to grab it quickly and squeezing it softly as he brought his coffee to his mouth with his other hand.

“We’re an odd couple, aren’t we?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa chuckled, nodding at him with a smile. Then, Iwaizumi put down his coffee and quickly reached over, flicking at Oikawa’s forehead, not hard enough for it to hurt, but enough for it to be annoying.

“Hey! I was being romantic and cute, and then you do this!” Oikawa complained in a high voice, fixing his hair even though Iwaizumi hadn’t messed it up with the action.

“Sure, whatever,” Iwaizumi said, but smiled warmly as drank from his coffee again, putting down the paper cup hard enough for Oikawa to hear that it was empty. “You have to hurry up if you want me to drive you home before work,” he said, looking down at Oikawa’s plastic cup and Oikawa followed his gaze, seeing that he was still only halfway through it. He just shrugged with an unapologetic smile, standing up nevertheless.

“I can take mine with me,” he said, smiling at Iwaizumi, who grabbed for his own cup as he stood up, throwing it in the trashcan when they walked out.

“I’ll be working late tonight,” Iwaizumi said, already grabbing for his car keys.

“That’s okay, I actually thought I should just spend time at home with Kenma tonight,” Oikawa said, smiling excitedly at the prospect.

“Ah, yes, Kuroo has been talking a lot about him,” Iwaizumi said, smirking as he walked around the front of his car, opening his own car door. Oikawa followed his example, getting in on the passenger side and putting on his seat belt.

“Kenma isn’t talkative, but he feels the same,” Oikawa chuckled, thinking of how Kenma would stutter as he tried to avoid the subject when Oikawa mentioned it. It was cute, really, because Oikawa hadn’t seen Kenma romantically interested in anyone before and he had sort of just assumed Kenma was ace and before having the two of them meet, Oikawa would’ve never expected them to fit, but _when_ he did see them, he had come to the conclusion that their dynamic was surprisingly good.

“Kuroo is, well,” Iwaizumi said, chuckling to himself. “He’s best friends with Bo, so,” Iwaizumi said, as if that explained anything. It didn’t take long for Oikawa to realise that the Bo mentioned was Bokuto Koutarou, whom Kuroo had used Oikawa to pull a joke on (something that Oikawa still wasn’t over – he still needed revenge, maybe he could even get Bokuto to join in on it). But the fact that Kuroo had pulled a joke like that on him made it easy to see how close they were. Oikawa’s impression of Kuroo matched that too, but he felt like there had been a different, calmer side to him whenever he had his eyes on Kenma, maybe because he realised he couldn’t just go in hard and charm himself in on Kenma. Oikawa knew it was important to be able to read people to be close with Kenma and it was obvious that Kuroo’s abilities probably were on par with his own – but Kuroo used it differently, he had proven himself to be good at provoking people already, but what really impressed Oikawa – and what made Oikawa believe that he actually had a chance, was the fact that he could use the information he got to adapt to the people around him, to make them feel more comfortable.

Iwaizumi dropped Oikawa off at his apartment and left with a quick goodbye kiss – oh God, they were already so couple-y, it was disgusting – and Oikawa finally returned home to a long shower, his favourite strawberry shampoo and, even though he loved Iwaizumi’s bed and how it smelled of him, his own bed.

Sadly, Oikawa had to leave said bed for work, but it was a short shift and there weren’t many customers (at least he didn’t really talk up that many of them, and he spent most time putting clothes away behind the desk so he wouldn’t).

On his way home from work, Oikawa had texted Kenma, who had answered and told him that he was already home, but also that he was tired from being out the last couple of days too, probably meaning that he hadn’t been able to make use of the alone time Oikawa being away from the apartment had given him. That basically meant Kenma would probably be annoyed, exhausted or quiet – and that he probably wouldn’t be in the mood to stay up all night and talk with Oikawa (for them, it meant Oikawa mostly doing the talking, Kenma coming with a few slightly rude, but mostly true words advice).

Oikawa had stopped on his way home and bought some ice cream in 7/11, and when he had arrived, Kenma was still in the living room, which was a good sign – that meant he didn’t exactly mind Oikawa’s company, and after very little time, even fewer words, they were seated together, Oikawa’s head in Kenma’s lap, Kenma watching TV and Oikawa messaging his friend Makki on the phone instead – because Makki was just as good at the honest commentary on Oikawa’s stories and he was way more talkative, even when it was over text.

“Tooru?” Kenma suddenly asked, and Oikawa turned his head to look up at him.

“Yes?” Oikawa mumbled, smiling and pressing the lock-button on his phone in his hand without looking at it.

“It’s good that you told him,” Kenma just said, giving Oikawa a barely-there but nevertheless sincere smile. Oikawa smiled back, broad and brightly, without having to force it.

“Yeah, I guess it has its pros and cons, but I’m happy I did it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I say this quite often, but this chapter was kinda bleh to write. I hadn't really looked forward to it and not much happens. I adore Oikawa's friendships and I'm a firm believer that once you get in a relationship your S/O shouldn't take over every single other role in your life, because one person can't be all that for you. So, yeah, Oikawa still enjoys time with his friends, so do Iwa (when he's not working, lmao).  
> I guess this was also a sort of background chapter? as in, telling the background stories I imagined for the characters in it.  
> On another note, I started talking with a real life friend about writing and made the mistake of sending her the link because she was nice enough to want to read. Then I remembered that I literally had dick jokes in the first chapter and realised my mistake. Idk about you guys, but I'm sort of a closet-fan. I don't deny it when people ask, but I don't exactly talk about hq!! or my deep love for iwaoi at parties.
> 
> Also, I'm really not kidding when I say I didn't really like this chapter. I told you guys I don't really edit before (after this story, I'm gonna start doing that though, but I feel like I'm already too deep in this mess, haha), and while I do like some lines I wrote in it, most of the time when I scroll down the document and my eyes accidentally fall on a line I'm like "yikes. no." Also I literally used the word 'yikes' in my story, I'm just waiting for the day someone busts in my door and says "STOP WRITING you idiot". Now I'm gonna go grocery shopping, bc I have no food in the house.


	14. A matter of trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Wow, the biggest ego in the office meets the biggest ego in the world and they feel insecure about their significant others talking with each other. Just wow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sweats nervously* sorry this took so long to write. I, uh, I procrastinated quite a lot. On another note, I wrote a oneshot that I may post at some point if I get the confidence to do so.
> 
> I was too scared to even edit this thing but I need to be in school in 6 hours and i need sleep so. goodnight.

After having spent last night getting drunk on his favourite supermarket wine with his favourite couple of friends, Oikawa was on his way out with a pot of curry made by the half of the duo that was actually able to cook. Oikawa found it ironic that Mattsun and Makki had gotten together in the first place, because compared to Hanamaki, Oikawa was a master chef (whereas Matsukawa _actually_ was one). Their taste in movies were also completely different, Hanamaki once again resembling Oikawa more than his other half with his taste in documentaries, kaijuu and alien movies. Oikawa had heard from Matsukawa just yesterday that Iwaizumi shared his taste in action movies and in general the big blockbuster ones (except Iwaizumi apparently loved monster movies as well, which Oikawa noted down in his mind, because he definitely wouldn’t mind doing a marathon with his man and he was curious about knowing whether or not he had good taste in films.

Hanamaki was also the kind of person who ate the fries from everyone else’s plate, whereas his boyfriend was the kind person who made a big enough portion of food for Oikawa to have leftovers for lunch the next day. But sadly, the thing that they _did_ have in common was probably also one of their most prominent traits. Their humour. Not only were they quick witted and sharp mouthed, but, to Oikawa’s dismay, they also had a shared love of using his as a victim of their taunts. Of course it was only friendly banter, but sometimes his friends could be quite honest with him where he preferred staying in denial. In the end, it always served the best for him, though, and that was why they still had the title of his best friends (even though the fact that they lived together and had sex regularly – in fact, he knew details about their sex life that he would prefer being without – meant that they shared a somewhat deeper connection. With Kenma - and through him Yaku, probably also even Kuroo and Haiba Lev to some extent – Oikawa felt like he had a pretty solid circle of friends.

The leftover curry that Mattsun let Oikawa have from their night before was now packed tightly in the last Tupperware with both lid and box present that Oikawa owned, as he was on his way in the metro to the financial district. He and Iwaizumi had lunch plans and Oikawa was supposed to drop in at whatever time fit him the best and since his hangover had been surprisingly mild, Oikawa didn’t mind coming in a bit early if it meant spending more time with his Iwa-chan.

When Oikawa finally walked in the elevator of the office building, he pressed the button for the eleventh floor and turned towards the door again, readjusting the bag strap on his shoulder. The elevator doors opened and he walked out, turning to walk down the hall towards Iwaizumi’s office. Except, he didn’t get that far before someone jumped out in front of him, grey and black hair spiked up in a hairstyle that probably required more wax than Oikawa would let near his hair (he preferred it to be _soft_ and the heaviness of the product would made it less voluminous). Oikawa instantly recognised the agitated person in front of him as Bokuto Koutarou, Iwaizumi’s colleague.

“It’s terrible!” Bokuto yelled and no one in the open office space in front of them looked up from their desks – Oikawa assumed that they were used to Bokuto being loud and braced himself for the conversation, he was pretty good at handling boisterous people (takes one to know one, as Hanamaki used to say, when Oikawa bragged about this after handling a particularly noisy potential sponsor once).

“What’s wrong?” Oikawa asked.

“It’s a catastrophe! Iwaizumi and Akaashi!” Bokuto said, taking a step back and putting a hand on a desk, leaning his weight up against it. The lady at the desk didn’t even look up from her screen.

“Are they okay?!” Oikawa asked, letting himself get carried away. Suddenly, someone put their arm around Oikawa’s shoulder from behind, but he instantly jumped to the side, realising that he had probably been a bit too swayed by Bokuto’s upset behaviour. When he realised that it was Kuroo that had come over, Oikawa didn’t mind his reaction, though, instead shrugging when Kuroo raised an eyebrow at him.

“Akaashi is helping Iwaizumi with a case and Bokuto isn’t used to being ignored for so long,” Bokuto said, turning his eyes to Bokuto and waving a hand vaguely in his direction, making it obvious that he was explaining the reasoning for Bokuto’s panic, rolling his eyes as if to show how seriously he took the problem himself.

“Iwa-chan… with Akaashi,” Oikawa said, trying to understand the situation, turning to look between Kuroo and Bokuto again.

“Yes, but only for, what, two weeks?” Kuroo said, turning to Bokuto with raised eyes. Bokuto nodded.

“Let me get this straight – Iwa-chan. Is working… with Akaashi Keiji?” Oikawa asked, pausing a few more times than necessary. Kuroo nodded slowly, as if Oikawa wasn’t going to understand otherwise. Oikawa ignored it for now, though, turning to look at Bokuto, more interested in the situation lying at hand. Oikawa remembered Akaashi Keiji – and not just because he tried remembering everyone, but because Akaashi Keiji was, well, the kind of person you’d remember without trying to, the kind of person you would look at twice if they walked down the street. Not that Oikawa _wasn’t_ , but Akaashi had a completely different aura and look, and Oikawa was unsure whether or not he was Iwaizumi’s taste. Oikawa already knew from his first time meeting Akaashi and Bokuto that Akaashi wasn’t straight, which only made it more likely that the two would be attracted to each other. When he looked up at Bokuto, their eyes locked and Bokuto looked as panicked as Oikawa did. “Fuck,” Oikawa said, followed by a nod by Bokuto. Kuroo just snorted next to them and when Oikawa looked at him, he rolled his eyes at him, not even bothering with hiding it. He turned to look down the hall, grabbing the handle of his bag harder and looking at Bokuto and Kuroo hastily again.

“Are they in Iwaizumi’s office, or?” he asked, realising that he sounded like he was ready to take action and rip the two apart if he found them together – Oikawa didn’t exactly expect Iwaizumi to have an office affair going on already, especially not when said affair already had a boyfriend who _also_ worked at the office. Not that he could be sure – after all, he didn’t know Akaashi Keiji very well and maybe he got off from starting up relationships with his bosses. Oikawa’s grip on the bag strap tightened at the thought.

“Yeah,” Kuroo said, looking warily between Oikawa and Bokuto.

“I’m having lunch with Iwaizumi now,” Oikawa said, turning to walk down the hall towards it again, this time not stopped by Bokuto.

“Cockblocker!” Kuroo yelled after him, but Oikawa heard the sound of a hit and Kuroo yelping quickly after, chuckling as he could hear Bokuto complaining that Kuroo had told him it _wasn’t_ like that just moments ago. Of course Kuroo would say something like that to rile Oikawa up. He totally didn’t fasten his pace because Kuroo succeeded riling him up. He didn’t.

When Oikawa finally reached the door, he knocked, because normal people knock and he definitely didn’t fear the _exact_ same thing to happen as first time he burst into an office in this building.

“Come in,” Iwaizumi, Oikawa recognised, said from the other side of the door. Oikawa opened it slowly and stuck in his head, instantly noticing that Akaashi was sitting pretty much as far away from Iwaizumi at the table as possible, his laptop put the only place on the desk that there was room.

“Hello, Oikawa-san,” Akaashi said, not quite smiling at him, but not looking unfriendly either – Oikawa assumed that he was either not the type who smiled often (thank god) or that Akaashi actually didn’t like him, either because he wanted Iwaizumi for himself or maybe because he saw Oikawa as a threat to his title of the prettiest person in the office (and that was even Iwaizumi’s quite attractive female boss included).

“Oikawa! You’re early,” Iwaizumi said, putting down the papers he had in his hands.

“Yeah, did I come at a bad time, or?” Oikawa asked, not at all apologetically. Iwaizumi turned to look at Akaashi.

“I guess we could have our lunch break earlier?” Akaashi said, forming the sentence as a question as he looked at Iwaizumi, obviously still aware that he was the one in charge between them.

“Great!” Oikawa said, walking in and sitting down in the other chair than the one Akaashi was sitting in, turning to look at Iwaizumi. “I have food with me!” he said, smiling as he grabbed for his bag.

“Hopefully not something you made?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa put his free hand on his heart in offense.

“So rude, Iwa-chan! But no, from Mattsun with love,” Oikawa said, smiling broadly again.

“Oh, Matsukawa’s?” Iwaizumi asked, his attention perked. Oikawa couldn’t help but smirk at this, turning to look at Akaashi, who eyed them curiously.

“Ah, and you’re officially seeing Bokuto now, right?” Oikawa asked, giving Akaashi his most charming smile. Akaashi simply nodded, his expression strained as if he disliked talking about it. He glanced towards Iwaizumi and for a second Oikawa wondered if it was because he actually was trying to seduce him, but then he remembered that they _were_ at work – it seemed more likely that Akaashi just didn’t like talking about it in front of his superior. “I met him and said hello on my way here,” Oikawa said, leaving out the detail where Bokuto had pretty much screamed about the two and riled up Oikawa. “We should all eat lunch together another day!” he said, turning to smile at Iwaizumi again as he took out the Tupperware from his bag. Iwaizumi took away a pile of paper and Oikawa put it in the newly freed space, smiling excitedly.

“Uh, okay,” Akaashi said, closing his laptop and turning to look at Iwaizumi. “I’ll go check my mails at my own desk, then,” he said, looking down at the box on the table once more. “You can just call me in when you’re finished with lunch,” he said before excusing himself and leaving Oikawa and Iwaizumi alone in the room.

“Sorry, he’s not very talkative,” Iwaizumi said, shrugging off the awkwardness. Oikawa raised an eyebrow.

“Towards strangers or you as well?” he asked.

“Well, not while working, since communication is key when working together,” Iwaizumi answered, reaching for the chopsticks Oikawa gave him. “He’s pretty private, though,” he said.

“Why are you working with him, though? Doesn’t he work for Bokuto? What about that adorable assistant of yours – Yachi?” Oikawa asked, realising that he was probably asking too many questions for Iwaizumi not to get suspicious.

“He studied commercial law so he has valuable knowledge for what I’m currently working with right now – of course Yachi still works for me, but she’s also still my _assistant_ ,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes at Oikawa, but not commenting on Oikawa’s interest in the matter, leaning in when Oikawa opened the lid for the curry and rice, raising his chopsticks.

“Smells great,” Iwaizumi said, exhaling deeply afterwards and looking up at Oikawa.

“Fresh from last night, I was told to say hi to you by the way,” Oikawa said, smiling broadly as he grabbed his own chopsticks.

“Ah, say hi and thanks for the curry back, then!” Iwaizumi said, as they began to eat the food.

 

After the lunch, Iwaizumi didn’t exactly ask Oikawa to leave, but he still felt Iwaizumi’s glances at his computer screen and felt a bit unwanted – of course, there wasn’t really anything to say about it, since Oikawa _was_ visiting him at work. So Oikawa excused himself, kissed his boyfriend goodbye and demanded that he made the dinner since Oikawa had taken care of the lunch, to which Iwaizumi had laughed and replied that he owed Matsukawa dinner, not Oikawa.

On his way out, Oikawa saw Akaashi walk down the hall towards him, probably towards Iwaizumi, and Oikawa forced smile. Surprisingly, Akaashi stopped him instead of just smiling politely back, the reaction Oikawa had assumed.

“Oikawa-san, as for the lunch plans – do you have time tomorrow already?” Akaashi asked, holding his laptop and a file of papers in front of him.

“Yeah, fits perfect,” Oikawa said, smiling brighter this time – this was definitely a good sign.

“Also, can we specify the time of the appointment? I don’t think it’s smart that you come in whenever you want and disturb Iwaizumi-san’s work, at least not for the moment,” Akaashi said, still holding the pile in front of him innocently. Oikawa gaped at him.

“Huh? Disturb?” he asked, staring at Akaashi.

“I mean, walk in unannounced. I don’t really care with whom he spends his lunch breaks,” Akaashi specified, looking to the side instead of at Oikawa.

“Oh,” Oikawa just replied, unsure of what else to say.

“So, at 1 o’clock tomorrow?” Akaashi asked, looking up at Oikawa again, only a slight smile on his lips. Oikawa nodded slowly. “Great, I’ll notify Iwaizumi-san this instant then,” Akaashi said, turning to walk down the hall again elegantly, not bidding Oikawa any other farewell. After taking a moment to collect himself again, Oikawa turned and walked towards the elevators, deep in thought. Akaashi was, well, sort of _rude_. He didn’t seem evil-minded, though, just kind of cold. Oikawa knew that his mind was probably already clouded with jealousy so he did try to be careful with putting too strong descriptors on him yet, though. But the politeness with which his rude comments were executed, it was quite hard to notice for people less observant than him. Like Iwaizumi. But why would Akaashi agree to what could pretty much only be described as a double date if he wanted to get his hands on Iwaizumi? Oikawa had to stop himself from getting locked in this line of thought; he could wait until tomorrow and see from their behaviour if there was any reason to worry. He just had to be patient, yeah. He could do that. Oikawa Tooru was a patient person.

 

Oikawa Tooru was not a patient person.

The day after, he woke up early by some miracle, but after two hours he was _bored_ and it was only ten in the morning and he had to wait before going there. He couldn’t even go earlier, not after what Akaashi had said about disturbing Iwaizumi’s office – no matter how much Oikawa wanted to spend time with him, he didn’t want to be a nuisance either, especially not since Iwaizumi had an unusually big workload lately.

So Oikawa spent his morning vacuuming the apartment, even Kenma’s room, since his roommate was working early today as well (everyone seemed to be gone when Oikawa felt the need to socialize) and then he had exfoliated his skin, gone shopping so the kitchen wasn’t too empty and when he was back, he could finally get ready to go to Iwaizumi’s office – an hour earlier. That was fine, right? He could just get off the metro a stop earlier and walk. Slowly.

On his way there, he wasted some time by checking out the magazine covers in the nearest 7/11, buying some gum to make sure his breath was fresh and when he finally stood in front of the office, looking up at the building, he was actually there on time.

He didn’t even have to go to Iwaizumi’s office to find him, but was met by him – and the pair they were eating with – in the reception.

“Oikawa! You’re exactly on time,” Iwaizumi said, lighting up in a gleaming smile. Oikawa beamed back, his restlessness from the morning (and, to be honest, also the night before) vanishing instantly as he walked over to greet them. Bokuto seemed to be the most excitable one of them all, even topping Oikawa, but that didn’t really come as a surprise to any of the parties involved. Bokuto has chosen a restaurant as well and it was upper class, obviously expensive with waiters that were all attractive, instantly trying to charm their guests, probably for tips. Iwaizumi didn’t really pay attention to the waitress, which was a relief to Oikawa. He couldn’t help but smile at the idea of Iwaizumi only falling for his charms and he had to bite back an even bigger smile when Iwaizumi laced their fingers together under the table, but was reminded whom they were with, when Bokuto suddenly whined.

“Akaaaashiiii,” he said, dragging out the name as Akaashi put down the menu card in front of him.

“Bokuto-san, I don’t need this,” he said calmly, turning to look at his boyfriend.

“But you never accept anything I give you,” Bokuto said, pouting and resembling a five year old who wasn’t allowed to get what he wanted _– except the situation was reversed._ He wanted to _give_ something and was denied. Oikawa could only assume that Akaashi was nowhere near as well off as either Iwaizumi or Bokuto, since he worked under Bokuto and even though he most likely earned more than Oikawa did in retail, the fact that he was saying _no_ to being gifted stuff was, well, unbelievable to Oikawa. And even worse, Oikawa suddenly felt Iwaizumi’s eyes on him and when he turned to face him, his eyebrow was raised, almost in provocation. Oikawa opened his mouth, but closed it again, unsure of what to say.

He was saved by the waiter who took their orders – apparently, Akaashi had just denied getting a bottle of wine for his lunch, but the couple had still clearly shown that their dynamic was pretty much the opposite of Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s.

And Oikawa couldn’t help but wonder if this was the worst idea he had – he had pretty much made Akaashi more attractive to Iwaizumi now with that revelation and the rest of the double date had been going so _well_. Bokuto was loud and boisterous but whenever Oikawa stole a glance at Akaashi, he could easily see fondness in his eyes when he looked at his boyfriend. Iwaizumi hadn’t even tried talking up Akaashi specifically, but that could also be because they were already spending enough time together. But now, after Bokuto and Akaashi had pretty much made it clear that it was Bokuto that wanted to give Akaashi stuff and Akaashi denying it. Oikawa couldn’t help but imagine Iwaizumi falling in love with him just then – or at least comparing him and Oikawa in his mind. Akaashi was also quiet – Oikawa was confident enough that appearance wise he could still compete with Akaashi, but for a person with such a loud, expressive partner, Akaashi was more polite, quiet and thoughtful. Oikawa could only imagine Iwaizumi liked those traits, since he oftentimes insulted Oikawa when acting the opposite.

So Oikawa faked a smile, followed them all back to work and hugged Iwaizumi goodbye – getting a promise that Iwaizumi would call him later, buy dinner if he got off from work early enough for it – and then Iwaizumi and Akaashi left for Iwaizumi’s office to resume work. Oikawa was probably supposed to leave, but when he turned to Bokuto and his smile fell, since he no longer had to feign it for Iwaizumi, he saw Bokuto’s expression do the exact same thing (except Bokuto was _way_ more expressive than Oikawa, which was quite impressive by the way, and his eyebrows fell from raised on his forehead to deeply furrowed frown.

“We have a problem,” Bokuto said, turning to Oikawa. Oikawa could only nod. “They get along _too_ well.” Oikawa was unsure if he agreed on that point – they had simply been small-talking when Oikawa and Bokuto had become excited about something, maybe bonded a bit over the moment where they both rolled their eyes at their date at the same time, but apart from that, not more than usual – not more than Iwaizumi and Sawamura, for example.

“What’s the problem?” Kuroo’s voice came out of nowhere and was instantly recognised. This time, Oikawa welcomed him.

“We need your help,” he said calmly, turning to look at Bokuto, who nodded enthusiastically at that idea, his golden eyes already staring pleadingly at Kuroo.

“Huh? With what?” Kuroo asked curiously, instantly turning from his usual lazy demeanour to looking at them as if he actually wanted to help them. Sometimes Oikawa forgot that this master of sass was actually a nice person (most times he was aware though – after all, he was still keeping Kenma interested).

“Akaashi and Iwaizumi,” Bokuto said, as if that explained everything. It seemed to do just that, because Kuroo instantly _turned back_ and laughed out loud, even holding his hand over his stomach as he threw his head back in amusement.

“This is serious,” Oikawa said, rolling his eyes at Kuroo, not really patient enough to wait for the laughter to die down.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Wow, the biggest ego in the office meets the biggest ego in the world and they feel insecure about their significant others _talking_ with each other. Just wow,”

“But Kuroo! Akaashi is so pretty,” Oikawa complained, stomping the ground in a way that definitely didn’t resemble a stubborn five years old.

“And Iwaizumi is so strong,” Bokuto chimed in.

Oikawa nodded, but then added: “You’re strong too, though.”

“Yeah. But you’re pretty too,” Bokuto said, and Oikawa shrugged, a tiny smile on his lips. Even in an emergency situation like this, he wasn’t going to ignore another boost to his confidence, especially not by someone who was constantly around Akaashi Keiji of all people. Bokuto must’ve become sort of immune to the effect pretty faces by now.

“Look, nothing to worry about,” Kuroo said, walking over and placing his hands in their shoulders. “If you still have your doubts, then _ask_ them. You’re supposed to be in a relationship – honest communication is the key,” he said.

Of course, that was the worst advice he could give ever. Because it was _true_. And especially after Oikawa had lied to Iwaizumi, he couldn’t lie again. Of course Kuroo have to bring up _that_ card. He didn’t even know Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s promise but he had still hit right on the spot. Oikawa turned to look at Bokuto, hoping that _he_ had some genius that worked better, but he looked like Oikawa felt – extremely disappointed and extremely unable to come up with objections.

“Also, Bo, you have to get back to work at some point,” Kuroo said, releasing his grip on their shoulders and then turning to walk away himself, probably to his office.

“Uh,” Oikawa said, looking down at the ground, because he felt Bokuto’s eyes shift to him afterwards, probably hoping for the same thing from Oikawa that he had wished from Bokuto just seconds ago.

“Well,” Bokuto said, when Oikawa didn’t make any indication of saying anything else. “I should get back to work then,” he said. Oikawa nodded.

“I guess… I guess we have to tell them. Or ask them, or whatever,” Oikawa said and Bokuto nodded.

“Yeah. Tonight, I’ll ask him tonight,” Bokuto said and Oikawa wondered if they lived together already or if Bokuto was planning on meeting up with Akaashi just for that – Oikawa would have to do so, at least, because Iwaizumi probably would get off from work late and not want to make Oikawa wait up late for dinner.

Oikawa waved goodbye to Bokuto and took out his phone when he was in the elevator, texting Iwaizumi that he was coming over that night, instantly thinking out a plan to ask Iwaizumi without seeming insecure about their relationship – but just how could you voice your jealousy and, well, _insecurity_ , without showing it? Oikawa hated baring his vulnerabilities, as few as they were, but he was supposed to _trust_ Iwaizumi. This was what it was all about – he just needed to ask him and have it confirmed that he wasn’t losing Iwaizumi to Akaashi. He could do that.

After confirmation from Iwaizumi that they could meet later – Iwaizumi would message him when he knew the time he could leave the office – Oikawa went grocery shopping, despite already having done so earlier in the morning.

“Why are you cooking dinner for him? Do you want to kill him?” Matsukawa asked after Oikawa had explained everything on the phone, still in the supermarket. Oikawa grabbed for a bag of his favourite chips as he walked past the snacks aisle to the actual food section.

“No, it’s supposed to be a _nice_ surprise. So I need something easy and good,” Oikawa said, rolling his eyes at his friend’s comment.

“Takeout, then,” Matsukawa said, snickering at the other end of the line.

“Are you going to help me out or not?” Oikawa asked, stopping in his tracks and taking a step to the side after a lady almost walked into him.

“Sure, sure. What were you thinking?” Matsukawa asked, getting a more serious, actually helpful, tone on.

“I thought agedashi tofu, since that’s his fav–“ Oikawa began, but was quickly interrupted.

“Um, no, that’s not gonna work,” Mattsun said, as if it wasn’t up for debate.

“Huh?”

“You can’t just _make_ a dashi now, it’s too late. And I don’t trust you with frying oil, to be honest,” Mattsun said, chuckling again. Oikawa pouted even though he knew Mattsun couldn’t see it, but then sighed in defeat.

“Okay, okay, something else then,” Oikawa said, walking towards the groceries section. “Any ideas?”

 

Matsukawa did in fact have some ideas that were manageable – Oikawa understood the instructions and while most of the ingredients weren’t that expensive, the problem was that Oikawa had basically none of the basic ingredients needed – “ _who_ doesn’t have teriyaki in their home?” Mattsun had asked, to which Oikawa replied that he never had to use it earlier – which meant the dish turned out to be significantly more expensive than expected. Oikawa could manage that, though – the actual cooking part was what he feared. But even the cooking went all right in the end, and when Iwaizumi _finally_ rang the doorbell hours later, the food was ready, edible even, and Oikawa was both nervous and excited.

Oikawa ran to the door, opening it quickly and jumping onto a quite surprised Iwaizumi, hugging him tightly.

“Wow, someone’s energetic,” Iwaizumi said, patting him awkwardly on the back before Oikawa drew back. When Oikawa did, Iwaizumi leaned in for a quick kiss before taking off his jacket and shoes. “And it smells like Matsukawa and Hanamaki are over…?” Iwaizumi said, turning to Oikawa with raised eyebrows and forming the sentence as a question.

“No, I cooked,” Oikawa said, smiling broadly.

“Oh, so you weren’t just wearing the apron to get a welcome kiss,” Iwaizumi said, looking down at the ‘kiss the cook’ written on the chest.

“Nope, the welcome kiss doesn’t count, you have to actually kiss the cook as well,” Oikawa said, smirking as he walked into the kitchen, not waiting for Iwaizumi to follow him, knowing that he’d be right behind.

“Well, I’ll wait until I’ve actually _tasted_ the food, then,” Iwaizumi said, walking up from behind and casually laying an arm around Oikawa’s hip. “It does smell good, though,” he said, leaning in over the counter to smell from the pot.

“Yes, you can just sit down if you want to, I’ll get the plates,” Oikawa said, smiling excitedly as he went for the cupboard containing them.

“Is there a reason for you to do all this?” Iwaizumi asked, jokingly wary but not having to fake the actual curiosity in his tone.

“Well, there’s actually something I want to talk about,” Oikawa said, giving the plates to Iwaizumi and grabbing for the chopsticks and the pot of rice himself, following him in and putting it on the dining table.

“Oh, should I be worried?” Iwaizumi asked, still curious, this time actually slightly wary.

“Well, that depends on your answer,” Oikawa said, laughing nervously as he came into the dining room with the other pot and a serving spoon.

“Okay, just… spit out, I guess?” Iwaizumi asked him, putting rice on his own plate after Oikawa sat down.

“Well, I wanted to ask how work went first,” Oikawa said, smiling at Iwaizumi as they began eating. Iwaizumi did seem quite content with the food.

“Great, Akaashi is really a big help,” Iwaizumi said, smiling. Oikawa couldn’t help but grimace, looking down at the food in front of him.

“Uh, yeah, actually what I wanted to talk about was, well, about that,” Oikawa said, breathing in slowly, deeply, to gather courage. When he looked up, Iwaizumi was curiously looking him over, waiting for him to continue. “Uh…” Oikawa began again, biting his lip. Just how had he planned on saying it? _Why_ was he so terrible at admitting that he felt threatened by Akaashi? “Akaashi is very attractive,” Oikawa said. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at that, obviously confused.

“I guess he is. Is this some plot at making me jealous or something?” Iwaizumi asked, making Oikawa pretty much cough up the sip of water that were already on its way down his throat.

“ _What?_ No, the opposite,” Oikawa said, shaking his head. In any other situation, he’d probably laugh at the absurdity (that was _not_ how you made someone jealous). “I meant, uh, _I_ felt jealous, I guess,” Oikawa said, looking down at his food again. Of course, he was too ashamed to even meet Iwaizumi’s eyes, only making it his shame even more obvious by avoiding it.

“What? Why on earth would you–“ Iwaizumi began asking, leaning in over the table but then he stopped, leaning back again in realization. “ _Oh_ ,“ he said. Oikawa looked up at him quickly, met by an almost annoyed glare by Iwaizumi. “You don’t trust me?” Iwaizumi asked calmly and even though his tone was neutral, Oikawa could see that he was offended. Oh. Oikawa hadn’t really thought of that reaction from him.

“Of course I do–“ Oikawa started, but he didn’t get to finish the sentence.

“No you don’t – that’s why you planned that lunch with Akaashi and his _boyfriend,_ right?” Iwaizumi asked, continuing before Oikawa could answer. “He also has a boyfriend, if you haven’t forgotten. And Akaashi is just as serious as I am about relationships.”

“I’m sorry! It’s just… look at him! Can you blame me?” Oikawa asked, placing his chopsticks on the table to use arm movements to underline the point. “He turned down Bokuto’s gifts too – all I could think of was how you’d probably _love_ that,” Oikawa said, this time using his hands to hide his face. He could hear Iwaizumi snort in offense again and when he looked up between two fingers, Iwaizumi was shaking his head.

“You still think about that? I thought we had agreed on just continuing like we used to,” he said, resting his face in the palm of his hand, pretty much hiding half of it away, making it significantly harder for Oikawa to read his expression.

“N-no, I just–“ Oikawa began, sinking his own hands – clear communication was supposed to be the key, he remembered – but Iwaizumi cut him off.

“I’m going to repeat my question: You don’t trust me?” he asked again.

“I do! I don’t trust myself,” Oikawa said. He didn’t add ‘and Akaashi’ because voicing his distrust in someone he barely knew and had no reason not to trust was probably not the best thing to do right now.

“For such a confident person, you’re not very sure of yourself,” Iwaizumi said, his voice significantly calmer. Oikawa breathed out, shaking his head slowly.

“I’m sorry for not trusting you,” he said quietly, looking up at Iwaizumi.

“I guess I can forgive you this once,” Iwaizumi said, smiling softly. “Since you told me and,” – he looked down at the food, smiling as if he was surprised that it was edible – “you even _cooked_ for me,” he said, followed by a chuckle. Oikawa gave him a little smile back.

“Well, you are worth it,” he said, tilting his head to the side. He wanted to add ‘and I want this to work’ as well, but he felt like he had bared enough of his thoughts for the night. Instead he stood up and walked over, grabbing Iwaizumi’s tie as he leaned down for a kiss. “I’ll make it up to you,” he said, smirking as he pulled back from the kiss, still holding onto the tie. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, returning his look with a wry smile.

“How are you going to do that?” he asked, kissing Oikawa back as he stood up himself. Oikawa didn’t answer, instead pulled him towards the bedroom by the tie, laughing softly. Iwaizumi was his and he was Iwaizumi’s – it was a matter of trust. And Oikawa decided that he did trust Iwaizumi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fade to black* and they have hot sex all night long.  
> im so sorry holy crap 
> 
> ((I also learned that writing while drinking wine is much more fun than writing without. Which is probably partly why some of this chapter is even worse than usual.))
> 
> Thank you all so much for kudos and comments and bookmarks, I love you all, the support is what has kept me going through all of this and I'm finally seeing an end to it (i expect it to be 19 chapters now!! at least no more than 20!!)


	15. City of ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re taking me to _Paris?”_ Oikawa asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! sorry for being soooo slow at updating omfg.  
> I had a writers block and just several issues this month, but I'm relieved to finally finish and post this (...at 5am).  
> It's unedited as per usual, so I apologise for whatever mistakes you're gonna fall over and hope that it's still readable and enjoyable!

“How would you like going on a weekend trip with me?” Iwaizumi asked, leaning in over the bed and brushing Oikawa’s bangs away from his face. Oikawa closed his eyes, enjoying the warm sensation of his lover’s touch, just as welcome as the sunrays shining through the windows, feeling like a caress on his exposed skin. It was still morning and Iwaizumi had been up for a while – Oikawa was woken up by the sound of the shower and he woke up for real when Iwaizumi returned to the bedroom, dressed in nothing but a towel and skin still damp. Iwaizumi had returned to bed again half dressed when he realised he still had time and had surprised Oikawa with the question.

“Weekend trip?” Oikawa asked, slowly opening his eyes (and squinting while waiting for them to adapt to the light) after Iwaizumi had pulled his hand back again.

“Yeah, or an extended weekend trip, since the travel time is quite long,” Iwaizumi said, smiling when Oikawa turned to look at him.

“Long travel time?” Oikawa asked curiously, pushing himself up on his elbow and resting his head in his hand. If he was talking a long trip by plane, that would possibly mean going to a different continent. Oikawa wasn’t naïve enough to believe that Iwaizumi was gonna take him on a trip that far away without good reason – he probably had work to do and while Oikawa hadn’t done more than a superficial check on the company, he knew they had both European and Australian business partners. It would be a waste to go on a vacation far away if it was only for a weekend, because transportation time (and then jetlag-recovery time) would take up most of it. “I’d love to. When and where?” Iwaizumi smiled at the answer, leaning over to place a quick kiss on Oikawa’s lips before sitting up in bed and stretching his arms over his head.

“Next weekend and Paris,” he said, turning to look at Oikawa, probably to see the reaction. Oikawa bolted up instantly.

“You’re taking me to _Paris?_ ” Oikawa asked, not really trying to hold back with the enthusiasm.

“Before you get too excited: I have work there, but I assume you can find something to do while I’m busy,” Iwaizumi said, smiling brightly, seemingly happy with Oikawa’s reaction. Oikawa wasn’t even disappointed with the admission that it was a business trip – he was going to spend the weekend in Paris with his boyfriend. And he could _definitely_ find something to do while in the capital of fashion and art. Even the food was amazing in Paris. Oikawa couldn’t help but grin excitedly as he turned to look at Iwaizumi who had gotten up and was buttoning up his shirt.

“I can’t wait,” he said, his voice significantly lighter and his mind significantly more awake than just moments ago. There were few better ways to wake up than this, if any, he thought. It almost felt like he was still dreaming.

“I’ll order the tickets today, then,” Iwaizumi said, leaning in over the bed to kiss Oikawa again.

“You’re going to the office on a Sunday _again,”_ Oikawa complained, kissing Iwaizumi back, but pouting instantly after their lips parted.

“You know how busy I am at the moment,” Iwaizumi said, his tone making it obvious that he was not interested in discussing that fact. And Oikawa did know. Of course he knew. He had seen Iwaizumi go in and out of work mode so often over the last couple of weeks, sometimes being called or receiving an email out of the blue about work that couldn’t wait and having to cancel their dates – Oikawa didn’t really blame him, though, because the increased amount of work was harder for Iwaizumi than for him and he always tried to make it up for the cancellations, even if it wasn’t his fault.

Oikawa went home to his own place soon after that and couldn’t help but start looking into the things to do in Paris, his excitement only growing when an email ticked into his inbox that evening with a confirmation of two tickets to Paris at Thursday. First class. Oikawa had turned around to squeal into his pillow, then sat up, slightly embarrassed by his action, but still unable to hide his wide smile.

Thursday finally arrived, the time always seeming to go by extra slow when you were looking forward to something, and Oikawa found himself at Iwaizumi’s office with a packed trolley and his excitement wrapped up, saved for the actual arrival. Oikawa had work today as well, but was able to finish his shift in time before they were leaving and he had found someone to cover his shift on Saturday, making him able to go on the actual trip. Iwaizumi was still in his office, working until the last minute they had to leave, and Oikawa was stuck outside, leaning up against his assistant’s desk as he waited. The poor girl was obviously nervous about him waiting so close to her, but he was too lazy to relocate at the moment.

“D-do you want something to drink while waiting?” she asked, looking up at him in awe, as if she wasn’t used to being around attractive people. Oikawa knew that wasn’t the case, he remembered how Shimizu Kiyoko, Iwaizumi’s boss, the company _CEO_ , had looked at her. A CEO and an assistant, how classic. Not that Oikawa judged, he didn’t doubt Iwaizumi’s ability to pick a good assistant and he had already heard through Iwaizumi about how great she was at her job.

“No thank you,” Oikawa said, giving her his most charming smile and she nodded nervously, turning back to look at the same paper she had been looking at for ten minutes now, obviously just as a distraction so she didn’t have to small talk.

The phone started ringing, a bit loud for an office phone, and the assistant jumped in her chair, instantly picking it up after getting over the initial reaction.

“Yachi Hitoka, this is Iwaizumi-san’s office,” she said, her tone professional despite the unease that she had shown, proving Oikawa correct in the fact that she was able to do her work just as efficiently as everyone else despite being shy. “Kageyama already sent over the documentation,” she said and Oikawa instantly reacted to the name turning to look at her hastily, opening his mouth but closing it again when he remembered that she was still talking on the phone. “Yes, okay, I’ll send the confirmation, thank you,” she said, putting the phone back and turning to look at Oikawa, obviously having noticed his reaction.

“Kageyama Tobio?” he asked, hoping for a no. Of course, asking was quite a stretch, since Kageyama wasn’t an uncommon name, but Oikawa had already been told that Ushiwaka’s company was currently working on the same case as Iwaizumi’s (or working against? Oikawa tried to stay out of those matters, it really didn’t interest him – in general, he tried to stay out of any subject relating to Ushiwaka). But if Ushiwaka’s company was in the play, there was a risk that Kageyama Tobio, his old protégé, was as well.

“Yes, you know him?” Yachi asked, instantly lighting up in a bright smile, and Oikawa’s face fell – judging from her reaction he wasn’t just working on the same thing, but she even knew him personally. That meant there was a possibility that Iwaizumi did too, especially if he worked close with the person Kageyama was working for. Oikawa didn’t even want to think about it and shuddered at the thought, not really thinking of his action before he turned to Yachi Hitoka, who was still waiting for a reaction.

“Of course I know Tobio-chan,” Oikawa said, forcing up a bright smile, as if they were talking about an old dear friend.

“I’m closer to his boyfriend, but he’s very, uh,” Yachi began, her talk quickly as if she was more at ease now that they had ‘friends’ in common, but stopped herself mid sentence. “Unlike Shouyou, he’s not very talkative with strangers, I guess,” she said, smiling at Oikawa, who could only nod. Oikawa hadn’t even known _why_ he had helped Kageyama back then, because, like Yachi had said, he was nothing like a typical sugar puppy. Oikawa had recognised himself in his drive, though, and had felt nice enough to help him up until he realised that Kageyama wasn’t aiming to be his student, but his competitor. Oikawa had never regretted anything more than taking him under his wings after it had ended with Ushiwaka.

That same moment, Iwaizumi walked out of his office and Oikawa felt his shoulders instantly relax, even though he hadn’t even noticed how stiff they had been before.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” Iwaizumi said, his own trolley rolling behind him, held in his left hand.

“No problem,” Oikawa said, pushing himself up so he no longer leaned up against the table and turning to smile at Yachi. “Say hi to Tobio and Chibi-chan from me, then,” he said, winking at her as he followed Iwaizumi to the elevators.

“Call me if there’s any problems,” Iwaizumi called to Yachi, waving goodbye as she did the same, smiling at Oikawa shortly before they walked down another hallway and she was no longer in their sight.

“She’s nice,” Oikawa said, looking at Iwaizumi’s profile as they walked next to each other.

“Of course, most people are, you’re just the exception,” Iwaizumi said, smiling at him.

“Rude,” Oikawa mumbled, but smiled anyway as Iwaizumi grabbed for his trolley to hold while they walked over to the elevator. Oikawa let him, since two weekend-size trolleys weren’t that hard to hold and since he appreciated – no, enjoyed – the gesture.

Iwaizumi paid the cab to the airport and the check-in went by easily, giving them time to read and small talk about their plans for the weekend while wasting time in the waiting area until the plane was ready.

When they had finally boarded the plane and champagne was served less than half an hour after take-off, Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi.

“You really paid out for this trip, huh?” he asked, smiling brightly, enjoying the fact that Iwaizumi had paid extra for the first class tickets and without any transfers, even. He knew plane tickets for the weekend were more expensive and they had walked past the business class area when boarding the plane, so he knew the _best_ tickets had been bought deliberately. Oikawa felt a bit weird about caring that much about it; with Iwaizumi, it wasn’t even about making him pay for what Oikawa _wanted_ anymore – it didn’t matter what Iwaizumi spent the money on, Oikawa still felt excited and happy whenever Iwaizumi did pay something for him. He heard Iwaizumi mumble something inaudible and turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. “What did you say?” he asked, still smiling.

“The company paid my ticket,” Iwaizumi replied matter-of-factly, as if he knew what Oikawa had been thinking about. Oikawa rolled his eyes, his smile still not having escaped his lips despite the new information. The company paid _Iwaizumi’s_ ticket, not Oikawa’s. That meant Iwaizumi had only paid for Oikawa, not even himself. He could live with that.

 

When they arrived in Paris Monday morning, Oikawa had learned two new things on the trip there: despite being in first class, sleeping on a plane was still terribly uncomfortable. Plane food was not that much better either, but the plane personnel _did_ care more for your needs, and he knew it wasn’t just because of his looks, because it was the whole first class coupe – there was almost always a stewardess available, walking around the area as if she was just waiting for someone to call her over for help.

Summer had come to Japan slower than France and, apparently there was a heat wave in Europe that summer, something Oikawa realised quickly after stepping out the plane, instantly feeling too hot in his sweater, scarf and jacket.

Another cab ride from the airport to the hotel, paid by Iwaizumi, and Oikawa could finally change into a shirt in a thin material and fully enjoy the fact that he was in _Paris_ with Iwaizumi Hajime.

The hotel room had an amazing view over the rooftops of Paris and even the Eiffel tower could be seen in the horizon, making Oikawa’s guesses at the price class of the hotel rise significantly – the room itself was nice too, with a huge bed that was a tad too soft but nevertheless nice and a huge tub in the bathroom. The décor was a bit too old-fashioned European for Oikawa’s tastes, but that was a part of the experience too, so Oikawa could still enjoy it. Iwaizumi had time for lunch before an afternoon meeting (already!) but if everything went according to plan, he had time for exploring the city and dinner later in the evening.

Oikawa had always prided himself in being good in finding his way in the world and his English speaking skills that were definitely better than most, but Iwaizumi’s English was surprisingly good – Oikawa hadn’t expected him to be at that level, but after thinking about it, he felt stupid for not realising that it would probably take some talent to be able to negotiate work with non-Japanese speakers if he wasn’t good at English, but not only was his English impeccable, he was also able to describe the dishes on the menu that Oikawa didn’t know and because of that, Oikawa had ordered something he hadn’t heard of before for lunch and ended up extremely pleasantly surprised. After that, they separated with Iwaizumi going to work and Oikawa finding his way to the Tuileries by metro instead of cab, which he instantly regretted. The French subway system was way more complicated than the Japanese, despite being way smaller and the stations were gross and messy. The one person he had asked for help at a station didn’t even understand English and he was lucky to overhear a family with kids mentioning that they were going to the Tuileries Garden as well and was able to follow them and somehow end up at the right station.

The metro ride was short, but not exactly pleasant – the air was less humid than in Japan, but French people smelled _a lot_ and the air-condition in the stations wasn’t exactly amazing, but it wasn’t as bad inside the trains. When he walked up the stairs from the subway, it was easy to find the way to the actual gardens, simply following the stream of tourists moving the same way.

The weather was amazing and there were already a bunch of tourists, but Oikawa still enjoyed his walk around the garden and his trip to one museum placed in one corner of the garden. He had read about it online and was mostly just there to see the permanent exhibition. While the exhibition itself was tiny, the paintings were huge – horizontally long paintings of water lilies that Oikawa had seen many pictures of, but still managed to take his breath away. The room itself was completely white and there were too many tourists that constantly went in the way for him to get a good view, but Oikawa still ended up spending a long time compared to the size of the exhibition rooms and when he left, he was filled with a sense of awe and a new view of the world outside, enjoying the beauty of the park but quickly realising that he was already hungry despite having eaten lunch just hours ago. He followed the map on his phone to a famous bakery a few streets down where he bought a box of overpriced macarons, but they were beautiful enough for him to feel that it had been worth it anyway. After that, Oikawa went looking in the stores in the surrounding area but without buying any clothes, since nothing really piqued his interest, and in no time, Iwaizumi called him to ask for a meeting place before dinner.

They met back at the Tuileries garden and Oikawa gave him a tour to the places he went, without going to the museum this time. This time they walked another route through the garden through a tiny amusement park and from there, they took a cab to a restaurant Iwaizumi had been recommended in another part of Paris that was closer to the hotel.

They went home early that night, still tired from the flight, and Oikawa noted to himself that the too-soft bed wasn’t too bad with Iwaizumi in his arms and the cool breeze from the aircon making them able to share body heat comfortably.

 

Oikawa woke up blinded by the sun, for a second annoyed but then actually looking out the window and instantly seeing that this wasn’t the usual view from his bedroom to the boring street he lived on or even the skyline view from Iwaizumi’s apartment – but a postcard-worthy view of Paris, the Eiffel tower visible in the distance. He turned to look at Iwaizumi, who was still asleep with his face pressed into the pillow. Oikawa leaned down, kissing his cheek, leaning back in shock when Iwaizumi instantly moved in reaction to the touch, looking up with eyes squeezed almost close as he was getting used to the light in the room himself.

“Morning,” Iwaizumi said, a tired smile grazing his lips.

“Bonjour,” Oikawa said, moving to sit at the edge of the bed as he stretched, already beginning to plan what he wanted to do for the day – Iwaizumi had work most of the afternoon again, but he had told Oikawa that they could eat lunch together if they did it early and Oikawa was definitely planning on doing that with him, but when he stood up, his legs ached and sent shots of pain through his whole body. He sat down again quickly as he winced, turning to look at Iwaizumi.

“Tired from walking so much yesterday?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa pouted, shaking his head.

“I’m an active person,” Oikawa said.

“Doesn’t compare to walking around _all_ day and in regular clothes,” Iwaizumi said, sitting up himself smiling lazily. “Especially after having spent so long in a plane,” he added and Oikawa sighed, finally nodding and accepting the tiny defeat. His legs weren’t hurting enough for him to have to change plans but it still sucked a little that he was sore from the day before when he hadn’t planned on that – at least he hadn’t gotten any blisters; his knee hadn’t started acting up either and for that he was extremely thankful.

“The hotel had a morning buffet, right?” Oikawa asked, standing up again as he walked over to the table he had put his trolley, opening it to find his clothes for the day.

“Yeah, but you have to get fresh croissants for breakfast when in Paris,” Iwaizumi said, pushing himself off the bed and standing up, following Oikawa over shortly after.

“I eat that sometimes at home too,” Oikawa said, shrugging uninterestedly.

“Croissants are way better in France, trust me. And milk bread isn’t the same,” Iwaizumi said, earning a grimace and a stuck out tongue from Oikawa.

“Okay, okay, we’ll eat your boring breakfast today, then,” Oikawa said, smiling as he gave in. “I’ll decide breakfast tomorrow, then,” Oikawa said and for a second, Iwaizumi’s expression changed to something unreadable, his brows furrowing, but it was replaced with a smile instantly after.

“Sure,” Iwaizumi just said, leaning in over Oikawa to grab his chinos from his own luggage.

 

Oikawa had to admit it – croissants _were_ way better in France and paired with orange juice for Oikawa and a black coffee for Iwaizumi, it was definitely a satisfactory breakfast. Simple, but amazing and greatly enjoyed as they took a break from walking on a bridge over the Seine, enjoying the view and each other’s company before walking all the way to their first stop – Louvre.

If Oikawa had been sore before, it was nothing compared to after they had walked the museum thin, even though Iwaizumi said they hadn’t been anywhere near actually covering the whole place. Apparently they had spent too much time there as well – Oikawa blamed having to stand in line for so long – and had run out of time, therefore being unable to have lunch together. Iwaizumi instead gave Oikawa a few bills for lunch before saying goodbye, instantly hailing in a cab and saying farewell before leaving Oikawa at the Louvre, which Oikawa quickly realised was actually also next to the Tuileries Garden that he had explored yesterday. Oikawa wasn’t interested in spending the day the same place, though, and hailed over a cab himself (not as quickly as Iwaizumi had done, though, but he was just relieved that the driver knew English), heading for the Champs Elysees.

Oikawa had instantly figured out that the euros he had been given could easily cover both lunch and afternoon activities, so he didn’t even have to fake the nonchalance of someone with unlimited money supply when walking into the high end stores, smiling at the people working there, but declining help to buy anything – after having worked with selling clothes himself, he had quickly learned how to scope out the clothes he liked and he had become pretty much immune to all the tricks that the sales assistants would try and use on him way less efficiently than he did back at his own job.

Even though Paris was known as one of the best places to shop, Oikawa honestly wasn’t that impressed with the clothes, but it was still an experience to walk down the street, observing people and some of the quirkier stores that they didn’t have in Japan. At the end of the street, Arc de Triomphe took up all the space in the middle of an enormous roundabout that he knew literally had the word ‘star’ in the name – looking at it, he understood why, seeing all the different roads leading to and from it.

After snapping a few pictures of it, he quickly got bored, trying to remember what he had planned on doing next. The Eiffel tower in the distance instantly wiped his mind of whatever ideas he had and he hastily grabbed for his subway map in his bag, looking for the nearest stations. After another not-so-comfortable metro trip but in a surprisingly not busy tram compared to the fact that it was early afternoon (back home, it would’ve been stuffed), Oikawa stepped out into fresh air again and this time, he was taken aback by the view of the huge tower in front of him – _towering_ above him. Walking closer, he couldn’t help but take several pictures in as many angles as he could, fascinated with the fact that his photos all looked like photographs – the fact that he was actually _there_ was a bit hard for him to accept. The closer he got, the worse he also felt, though. Oikawa had considered going up there despite his fear of heights, but his curiosity got the better of him and soon he found himself walking the stairs – too lazy to take the elevator in the long line, he was in good shape anyway.

The stairs were trickier than he had expected, though. The iron lattice seemed more like the skeleton of a building than an actual one and he could look down underneath him, but just doing so made his head spin, but after some time, he found out that if he just kept looking up and holding the railing, it wasn’t as bad.

He decided to stay at the lower observation deck, not really interested in taking another trip up those hellish stairs, but even from there the view was breath-taking. He took a few more photos on his phone and considered buying a bottle of water – even though he was fairly fit, he still had to admit that it was pretty tough walking the stairs. The view from the observation deck wasn’t as terrifying as looking down while on the stairs, making it far more enjoyable, not just because he wasn’t forcing himself up what felt like thousands upon thousands of steps.

After having enjoyed the air from up there, Oikawa went back down – while the walking part was definitely less hard for him, his calves were ridiculously sore now and he had to look straight ahead not to feel like shit again.

He sat down in a nearby park with a crepe that he had bought for almost no money, overflowing with gooey nutella goodness, and he ate it while once again enjoying the amazing view of the cultural icon of France, reminding him of the Tokyo Tower, but with less colours and vastly different surroundings.

People were selling souvenirs several random places on the road and while Oikawa normally didn’t like buying from those kind of vendors, he decided that it would probably be a good idea to buy a little gift for Iwaizumi since he didn’t have time to go see the Eiffel tower with Oikawa (Oikawa decided to ignore the fact that Iwaizumi had already been there on an earlier business trip, he wanted this – Paris – to be their thing). He picked out a key ring with a tiny Eiffel tower with the letters ‘love’ written on the side that was only 2 euros – a cheap gift, but still cute and something Iwaizumi could use and have on him every day, something that could remind him of Oikawa every time he used his keys. And just as Oikawa was handing over the money, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He thanked the seller with one of the few words he knew in French - “ _Merci, merci,”_ – and then moved away to pick up his phone.

“I’m finished with the meeting, so I was wondering if you wanted to meet up soon?” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa smiled, relieved to hear both his voice and their native language – it was weird how much of a comfort it felt hearing it when being in a country where you didn’t know the language at all, especially when some of them were way worse at English than the average Japanese person.

“Well, I’m actually busy today, but maybe we could meet tomorrow?” Oikawa joked, smiling when he heard Iwaizumi’s chuckle on the other end of the line. “I’m in walking distance of the Eiffel tower,” he added, putting the key ring – packed in a tiny white paper back – into his bag with his free hand.

“Okay, should I call you when I’m near? A colleague actually recommended a place nearby I think – I can ask him about it for dinner,” Iwaizumi said, sounding slightly tired but happy and Oikawa’s heart swelled up, knowing that _he_ was the reason Iwaizumi was happy. He was looking forward to spend the evening with Oikawa just as much as Oikawa was excited to spend it with him.

“Can’t wait,” Oikawa said, smiling into the phone.

 

Less than half an hour after their call ended, Iwaizumi sent him a message with the address of the meeting place less than 5 minutes away from where he was. When Oikawa saw him, Iwaizumi leaned in for a peck on the cheek and Oikawa raised an eyebrow with a tiny smirk, then leaning in to kiss Iwaizumi on the other cheek.

“How French,” he said in a lively voice, smiling happily at Iwaizumi.

“You’re in a good mood,” Iwaizumi commented and Oikawa nodded, putting both hands in his pockets as they started walking down the street they were on absentmindedly – Oikawa wondered if Iwaizumi had an idea of where they were going or if he was just walking, expecting Oikawa to know like how Oikawa expected Iwaizumi to, but before he asked, he got the answer served. “The restaurant I was recommended needs reservations months in advance, apparently,” Iwaizumi said, their shoulders touching as they walked close to each other.

“Oh,” Oikawa said, not really having been told enough about it to be that disappointed.

“I’ll take you there next time we go,” Iwaizumi then added and Oikawa turned to look at him, biting his lip. Next time. Iwaizumi wasn’t looking at Oikawa, instead just looking straight forward, giving Oikawa space to stare at his profile, enjoy the view of his small, but sincere smile and how his hair shone in the remaining sunlight of the evening. Next time meant Iwaizumi planned on taking him there again. Oikawa’s stomach felt fuzzy and weird, but not like how it felt while walking up the Eiffel tower – in a good way. An _amazing_ way.

“We can just walk around and find a restaurant in the area,” Oikawa said, smiling when Iwaizumi turned to look at him. A small nod was the only answer he got, but then their fingers grazed and when Oikawa looked down, Iwaizumi was slowly, shyly, intertwining their little fingers as if they were doing a pinky promise, not letting go. Oikawa looked away, cheeks flushed, and wondered just how he had been lucky enough to find someone that made him feel that way.

“I’m really happy you came with me,” Iwaizumi said quietly, looking forward again this time when Oikawa turned to look at him. His lips parted slightly, as if he had more to say, but then he closed his mouth again, sending Oikawa a little smile before looking straight forward again, the only one of them smart enough to keep his eyes on the road to make sure they didn’t crash into anyone. Oikawa was too busy looking at his boyfriend and too busy to care about anything else.

“I’m happy too,” Oikawa replied, even more quietly, and he wondered if Iwaizumi even heard it.

 

The street they walked down had several nice restaurants, but ironically, they fell over a Japanese one and were too curious about the interior to stay away, even though the idea of eating _Japanese_ while in _Paris_ was probably a waste. They were greeted by a waitress who was Asian, but not Japanese and sent to a table for two, where another waiter came over, this time an actual Japanese man who greeted them in their language too, probably having taken over after realising that they had visitors from their own country.

“Good evening,” he greeted them while handing over the menus and they greeted him back before he quickly disappeared again, leaving them alone in each other’s company.

“California roll, how authentic,” Oikawa chuckled, reading up from the menu. Iwaizumi’s laughter was deep and quiet, as if he was holding back the sound, which he probably was, shaking his head while doing so. If the staff actually knew Japanese, he probably didn’t want to offend them, something that Oikawa hadn’t considered when he blurted out the comment. He licked his lips and kept looking through the menu, picking out what he wanted and then discussing what they wanted to drink afterwards.

Even though most of the drinking menu had Japanese drinks and beers, the few brands they recognised were mediocre at best and the wine menu was actually French. Both agreed on picking a French wine since they were still in Paris, and the waiter came over just as they closed their menus, taking their order.

“Rei-chan, come and pick up the food for table six!” someone called from the kitchen in Japanese and the waiter looked up, smiling apologetically at them after scribbling down the order.

“Patience, Rinko! I’m taking orders right now,” he answered, loud enough for the person in the kitchen who had called, probably the chef. He left the table with a polite bow, hastily walking towards the kitchen and coming out with two huge dishes with sushi.

 

“This is an experience too,” Iwaizumi said after they had been eating in mostly silence for a few minutes, poking at his own dish with his sticks.

“Yeah, this is… yeah. Western,” Oikawa said, looking down at his own sushi. “It’s not bad,” he said, smiling. He wasn’t even lying – it wasn’t what he had grown up with and loved, but it wasn’t like he disliked the sushi that was served – even the fish was pretty fresh and the way it was served was fun too. He wasn’t too sad about the chilli mayo on top of some of the uramaki either.

But Oikawa couldn’t help but notice every time the people working in the restaurant talked, not exactly loud over the other customers, but still demanding his attention as they spoke in his native tongue. The friend group next to them were American, constantly calling each other by first name and every time Iwaizumi said his name, his family name, Oikawa felt a bit weird. He hadn’t really thought of it before, but they had been together for a while and, when he thought of it, both Yaku and Kenma called Kuroo and Haiba Lev by their first names when talking about them, even though they had known each other for a shorter time than Oikawa and Iwaizumi. When someone from the kitchen called for _Rei-chan_ again, Iwaizumi looked up too, after just having stuffed his mouth with a piece of nigiri, curiously looking towards the kitchen as if he was also taking note of how everyone but them seemed to be on given name basis.

“So,” Oikawa said, looking at Iwaizumi expectantly. He must’ve known what Oikawa was going to ask by now.

“So?” Iwaizumi said, repeating the word questioningly with both eyebrows asked as he waited for Oikawa to explain.

“You know, we’ve been together for some time now and you’re still calling me by last name,” Oikawa said, keeping his eyes fixed on Iwaizumi’s face in order to read his expression.

“That was to make up for you giving me that horrible nickname from the get-go,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes, obviously not taking Oikawa seriously.

“I’m serious Iwa-cha–“ Oikawa stopped himself before he could finish, licking his lips before continuing. “ _Iwaizumi,_ I’m asking a genuine question here.” He pouted, leaning over so his bangs fell into his face, waiting for Iwaizumi to actually answer the question and, to his relief, Iwaizumi did look more thoughtful after that, looking at something behind Oikawa, probably just staring into the air, before answering.

“I guess I see it as a more private thing? I don’t mind calling you Tooru,” when he said the name, he turned to look at Oikawa, who had already started regretting that he asked; he could already feel his cheeks burning as he grabbed the edge of the table harder, more affected by Iwaizumi’s use of his given name than expected, “but I’d feel weird about doing it in daily speech – it’s quite intimate, don’t you think?” Oikawa didn’t want to, yet he still nodded. Ironically, he was supposed – _expected, even_ – to be cool with casual use of given names, since he used them often when he decided to give nicknames to people, a habit he had mostly grown out of since freshman year in college, but something he sometimes still enjoyed doing – but jokingly, sarcastically, even.

“I guess I agree with you… Hajime,” he said, unable to hold back from smiling after saying the name out loud himself. This wasn’t like whispering the name to himself alone or when saying it accompanied by his family name. It was, as Iwaizumi – as _Hajime_ – had said, intimate. When he looked up, Iwaizumi was looking at him with an intense expression and it took Oikawa a surprisingly long moment to read it – to realise that it was probably _want_ or something related to it, sending waves of excitement through Oikawa as well.

“I swear to god, if we weren’t in public…” Iwaizumi mumbled, reaching for his wine.

“We could always go back to the hotel early,” Oikawa said, raising an eyebrow challengingly. Iwaizumi’s mouth opened slightly as if he was too shocked to keep it closed, but then he turned to the side in an instant, waving the waiter over again.

“Can we get the check?” he asked, turning to Oikawa after the waiter had nodded and walked off.

“Wow,” Oikawa whispered, his voice already having gone slightly hoarse and he grabbed for his own wine glass, taking a sip, hoping it’d make his throat feel less dry, his lips curling up in a smirk around the glass as the pride swelled up in him – he loved being able to invoke such feelings in Iwaizumi, even if he was already feeling slightly antsy himself as well, ready to return to the hotel instantly.

Rei-chan came over fast and let them pay instantly and Iwaizumi complemented the food before they hurried out, trying to hail over a cab as quickly as possible, but there weren’t many on the street the restaurant was on. They crossed the street and turned down a corner, finding their way to a bigger road with more cars, this time having better luck with getting a cab, hurriedly jumping in and giving the address.

The cab ride itself was terrible, though. The driver seemed to sense the urgency and drove quite fast, but they were still sitting next to each other without being able to lean over and touch, kiss or even hold hands, instead just stealing glances at each other. Oikawa could see Iwaizumi’s clenched fist on his knee and he couldn’t help but smirk at the sight, sort of enjoying watching him like this. When the cab stopped in front of the hotel, Iwaizumi gave the driver a bill as they hastily left the vehicle, telling him to keep the change before closing the door and putting a hand on Oikawa’s bag, leading him inside the hotel.

The second they locked the door to their hotel room, their bodies crashed together and their teeth clinked at first, uncomfortable for a second before Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s tie, dragging him over towards the bed, letting it go in favour of being able to push his blazer down over his shoulders, helping him undress easily.

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi whispered between kisses, moaning when Oikawa nibbled at his lower lip, grabbing the back of his neck, tangling his fingers in Oikawa’s hair.

“Hajime,” Oikawa said back, his voice deeper than he had meant it to be, as he pushed said man back onto the bed, succeeding in freeing Iwaizumi’s loose grip from his hair, smiling triumphantly down at him. “Hajime, Hajime, _Hajime_ ,” he repeated, humming the words, feeling out how it was like to say it out loud.

When he leaned in over the bed, ready to join in, Hajime put a hand on his chest, holding him back.

“Before joining me, lube’s in the bag,” he said, glancing towards the bag sitting on the desk next to the bed. Oikawa leaned back, standing up straight again and walking over, grabbing for it.

“I thought we took it out last night,” Oikawa commented, raising an eyebrow when he turned back, using his free hand to open the upper buttons of his shirt.

“I put it back before we left – we’re at a hotel, I didn’t want the maid to find it,” Iwaizumi said, patting the spot next to him on the bed, motioning for Oikawa to join him. Oikawa walked over to the other side of the bed instead, putting the bottle on the bedside table. Iwaizumi, though, wasn’t as patient as he had expected and crawled over, grabbing Oikawa’s sides, his fingers sliding up under his shirt, touching his hips and sending shivers through Oikawa’s spine.

“Your hands are cold,” Oikawa said.

“Warm them up, then,” Iwaizumi answered simply, softly pulling Oikawa towards the bed, doing it slowly enough for Oikawa to follow with his own will, instead of sending him tumbling over it with too much force.

“So bossy, Iwa-, no, _Hajime_ ,” Oikawa corrected himself, smirking before he leaned in over the bed, over Hajime who followed the action, leaning back so Oikawa could crawl up on top, resting a knee on each side of Hajime’s hips.

“You look good like this,” Hajime commented, his voice husky and his tone earnest.

“I always look good,” Oikawa replied, leaning down and kissing Iwaizumi, smirking against his lips.

“Especially when you’re quiet,” Iwaizumi said, his arms having moved up to his chest, slowly unbuttoning Oikawa’s shirt with his still-cold hands. Oikawa took it off himself when it was completely open, returning the favour by loosening Iwaizumi’s tie and quickly unbuttoning the shirt he was wearing, impatience growing – they should’ve undressed before going to bed. Oikawa leaned down and kissed the corner of Iwaizumi’s mouth, then moving down to his jaw, neck and collarbone, pushing the shirt off one shoulder and humming in enjoyment when he heard Iwaizumi’s soft moan, a hand carding through the hair on the back of his head.

Oikawa moved up again, nibbling against his earlobe before whispering in his ear. “Will you let me take care of you tonight, Hajime?” He was answered with nothing but a guttural noise from Iwaizumi, encouraging him to keep going. He moved down again, releasing the tie from the shirt collar, but keeping it hanging loosely around his neck, letting his fingers slide down Iwaizumi’s exposed chest and abs, stopping at the waistline. It was unfair that an office worker had such a body, even after Oikawa had found out Iwaizumi went to the gym regularly. _Unfair_ , he repeated to himself in his mind, grabbing Iwaizumi’s belt and opening it, at least happy that _he_ was the one lucky enough to get to enjoy that body.

After opening the belt, Oikawa didn’t wait with opening the trousers too, grabbing the sides and pulling them down, exposing Iwaizumi’s boxers and the fact that he was already half-hard underneath. At first, Oikawa grabbed his length over the boxers, keeping the fabric between them at first as he worked his hand against it, letting his finger graze the already dampened area at the tip, unable to hold back a smirk when he heard Iwaizumi’s grunt.

Oikawa then pulled the boxers down by the elastic band in one quick movement, freeing Iwaizumi’s now hard cock and instantly leaning down, covering the tip with his lips, licking along the slit once with his tongue, cupping Iwaizumi’s ass with one hand and using the other to grab around the shaft of Iwaizumi’s cock, slowly taking more in, humming in satisfaction when Iwaizumi grabbed his hair again.

They had tried this enough times to know what the other liked and Oikawa knew what buttons to press to make Iwaizumi react certain ways, enjoying how his boyfriend moved underneath him, compliant like putty in his hands (and mouth). After some time, Oikawa slowly pulled back, flicking his tongue over the tip one last time before leaning over and grabbing for the lube, smiling up at Iwaizumi. He didn’t open the bottle instantly, though, instead leaning down and grabbing around Iwaizumi’s thigh with his free arm again, positioning himself so they were both in a comfortable situation, then leaning down and spreading Hajime’s cheeks, licking in one long, slow, tantalizing movement, wetting the area with his tongue at first, then swirling his tongue around the rim. He softly put pressure towards Iwaizumi’s entrance with the tip of his tongue. When he deemed Iwaizumi ready, he pressed harder, pushing his tongue in, gaining a loud moan from Iwaizumi. He drew back his tongue just to shove it in again, earning more sounds from Iwaizumi as he pretty much fucked him with his tongue, wondering if he should continue this for some time or move on to the next step as soon as Iwaizumi was ready – Oikawa himself often felt a bit weird about it, enjoying the act done on him quite a lot, but still feeling like just a tongue wasn’t _enough,_ craving more sensation, but he had been with a man once who enjoyed just that and while he certainly did feel good about making Iwaizumi squirm and moan like this under his tongue, his own cock was aching between his legs, making his slim fit-jeans feel a bit too tight on him.

Oikawa cracked open the bottle of lube, readying his fingers when Iwaizumi had opened and relaxed enough for him to feel sure about being able to switch the tongue out with a finger – when he did, Iwaizumi tensed up at first, getting used to the new sensation, but after a little while he relaxed again and, when Oikawa started thrusting his finger slowly, he became vocal again, whispering “Tooru,” over and over again.

Problem was, Oikawa was a fairly patient person if you asked him, but despite that, he was struggling with holding back when Hajime was lying out like this in front of him, moaning and exposed; beautiful. When the second finger came in, Oikawa started curling them against Iwaizumi’s walls, looking for _that_ spot and knowing that he found it when a loud gasp suddenly escaped Iwaizumi’s mouth. Oikawa turned to him with a mischievous smirk, earning what Oikawa could only explain as a _whine_ from Iwaizumi, as he curled his fingers against the same spot again.

Another finger and some time after, Oikawa deemed Iwaizumi ready for more than just his fingers, and he started zipping down his own jeans with his free hand, freezing in action when he realised what was missing.

“Where’s the condoms?” he asked, turning to look at Iwaizumi, who instantly shot him an annoyed glance, impatiently waiting for Oikawa to put it in – not as impatient as Oikawa was, he would’ve bet, but he didn’t voice his opinion.

“In the bag, same as the lube, did you forget?” he asked, this time groaning in irritation rather than pleasure. Oikawa sighed, pushing himself up from the bed and walking over with a fastened pace, pushing his jeans off completely on his way.

As he was back to the bed, his eyes scanned the room and fell on the window, taking in the amazing view of the cityscape, the buildings kept at roughly the same height so the Eiffel tower stood up proud between rooftops, lighting up over the city. Iwaizumi had followed Oikawa’s gaze, looking over the city as well and was smiling softly at it, still lying down in bed, but now resting on his elbows.

“They call it the city of light, you know,” Iwaizumi said, turning to smile at Oikawa, who stopped in front of him, opening the foil and pushing down his own boxers, rolling the condom over his own length, already hard and aching for sensation. When Oikawa was finished, he leaned in, smirking at Iwaizumi, whose attention had returned to rest on Oikawa as well again.

“They also call it the city of love,” Oikawa said, unable to hold back his cocky smile as he leaned in, positioning himself over Iwaizumi, who stared up at him with an unreadable expression, followed by an eye roll.

“Will you _please_ just fuck me,” Iwaizumi said, successfully ruining the romantic moment (if you didn’t count in Oikawa’s too cheesy line as having already done so). Oikawa positioned the tip at Iwaizumi’s entrance and then started slowly sinking in, watching his cock disappear inside Iwaizumi’s body, unable to hold back his own little groan of pleasure when buried inside, staying still at first, waiting for Iwaizumi to get used to it. After some time, Iwaizumi nodded and Oikawa slowly started moving, thrusting in a relaxed rhythm before speeding up, leaning over to thrust up in a certain way that made Iwaizumi make a sound that resembled a whimper (even if he wouldn’t admit that later on) every time he hit a certain spot.

Despite trying to take their time, moving slowly, none of them lasted that long, not willing to take breaks just to keep going later. After Oikawa had pulled out, sliding the condom off and tying a knot on it as Iwaizumi messily dried off his cum from their chests with Kleenex that he conveniently had kept by the bedside, Oikawa landed heavily on Iwaizumi’s chest, nuzzling into the crook of Iwaizumi’s neck. Somehow, the hotel maid having to clean up the day after popped up in his mind and Oikawa prayed that she would forgive them, deciding that he should be allowed to enjoy their last night in Paris together without worries, sighing deeply as he breathed in Iwaizumi’s smell before falling asleep; warm, comfortable and _exhausted._

 

He woke up to the sound of a phone vibrating, which was weird – normally his phone would still play the alarm tone when he set alarms in the morning, even on silent, but when he opened his eyes slightly, getting used to the light from the sun seeping in the window, he saw that it wasn’t his own phone vibrating, but Iwaizumi’s.

The spot next to him on the bed was empty, but Oikawa could hear the shower from the bathroom connected to the hotel room, telling him where Iwaizumi currently was. The phone buzzed once again, demanding Oikawa’s attention, and he leaned over and grabbed it to press the lock button so it wouldn’t show the new message and win over his curiousity, but when he did, he fell over a word that piqued his interest – _birthday_.

Oikawa instantly grabbed it for real, picking it up and inspecting the phone closer, checking the two new messages, both with the same subject but by different people. _Happy birthday, Iwaizumi._

Oh, god.

The door to the bathroom was opened and Iwaizumi stepped out, a towel draped around his hip tightly, water still dripping down his chest, but Oikawa was too shocked to fully enjoy the view.

“B-birthday?” he asked, his voice sounding thinner than he would’ve liked it. Iwaizumi’s mouth fell open, then he closed it and scratched the back of his head, chuckling.

“Haha… well… yeah,” he mumbled, looking down.

“I forgot your birthday?!” Oikawa asked, not trying to hide how horrified he felt.

“Well, no, I didn’t tell you about it,” Iwaizumi said, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

“Why not?!” Oikawa asked hastily, sitting up too quickly and leaning over.

“It’s not a big deal, I didn’t want you to make a big show out of it,” Iwaizumi replied calmly, reaching out for his phone. Oikawa gave it to him quickly.

“But it’s your _birthday_ ,” Oikawa began, pouting in defeat and already feeling the frustration – he should’ve planned something–, okay, well, if Iwaizumi didn’t want him to plan anything, not telling him was probably the right thing.

“I already ordered breakfast and champagne for room service to celebrate,” Iwaizumi said, smiling. “All I want is your company,” he added, and Oikawa snorted, both offended that Iwaizumi wasn’t letting him decide what they were doing and honoured that Iwaizumi just wanted to spend time with him, meeting Iwaizumi half way when he leaned in for a kiss. “Also, Bokuto, Kuroo and some other colleagues are holding a surprise party for me next weekend if you want to come?” Iwaizumi asked after pulling back, lifting an eyebrow.

“How do you know they’re doing it if it’s a surprise party?” Oikawa asked in disbelief.

“You’ve met Bokuto, right?” Iwaizumi just said and Oikawa chuckled, nodding. “He didn’t even _say_ it to me this year,” Iwaizumi added, as if Bokuto had actually made that mistake before. “You could just feel from his excitement that they were planning on something – and they do it every year despite my protest,” Iwaizumi said, smiling fondly at the thought of it. “Yachi is in on the planning too, probably the reason why it haven’t ended up in catastrophe yet,” Oikawa laughed at Iwaizumi’s words, imagining the party – if Yachi came, Shimizu Kiyoko probably also would and she did seem close to her subordinates too.

“We could invite Mattsun and Makki! They want to see you again so badly,” Oikawa said, earning a laugh from Iwaizumi who nodded. They were disrupted by a knock on the door and Iwaizumi grabbed for a bathrobe, putting it on before walking over and opening, accepting the room service from a hotel worker, tipping the man before closing the door after him.

 

After breakfast, they had to pack before going to the airport, getting picked up by a cab again and wasting time with looking around in the airport shops before boarding. Oikawa had enjoyed their weekend immensely, but he did miss people around him speaking his language and he also found it ridiculous how he already missed good, regular rice, something that he hadn’t even eaten for a while at home back in Japan – he was definitely going to make that for himself as the first thing when he got home.

When the time came and they could finally board the plane, Oikawa’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he grabbed for it, planning on turning it off for the plane ride anyway, but freezing in his tracks when he saw the name of the sender. Instead of opening the message to reply, he held down the lock-button, instantly turning it. He was still enjoying his vacation and he’d prefer staying in that happy world until his feet were on Japanese land again - Oikawa was definitely not interested in getting his mood ruined by Kageyama Tobio of all people right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meh, I'm preeeeetty sure this is one of the worst, if not _the_ worst chapter written to date, but it's not like super important to the plot so whatever. XD  
>  I felt really bad about writing about a trip to paris and not actually focusing on.. the city itself. I love Paris a lot and traveling and i have so many feelings about it that i feel weird about writing the story and not at all focusing on the travel part of the story :c  
> I based some of his experiences (like the japanese restaurant XD) on what my friend and I experienced on our 3 day visit in the city of lights and love last summer etc etc etc  
> And once again I feel like I need to apologise for the smut. Or whatever you can call it. I'm so awkward but I felt like another 'fade to black' would be cheating. So I apologise sincerely.  
> I hope that this chapter was at least somewhat enjoyable.  
> Oh, yeah, also, I got twitter! if you want to talk (about the story, writing, hq, the weather), hmu at @cheatos_


	16. Never let down your walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I fucked up again," Oikawa finally said, looking up at Kenma who still had his eyes on the computer screen.  
> "You lied?" Kenma asked, keeping his voice neutral. Oikawa shook his head, positioning himself so he could see Kenma's face better.  
> "I let down my walls, one of the most stupid mistakes you can make," he said, shaking his head. 
> 
> And it really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, i'm so sorry it took so long! i've just had so much going on and i'm just a weakling in general.  
> i'm going to tokyo in 3 days and i finished exams  
> aaand in general i've just been so stuck with the story, so i've been going back and forth with writing a bunch of other stuff too.
> 
> but HERE IT IS!!! originally i had another scene in the end of this chapter (the party) but i realised it'd be wayyy too long. ideally, i'll be able to post the next chapter already before leaving to tokyo... but realistically, more like less than 2 weeks.
> 
> again, i'm gonna warn: it's 5am. i'm not gonna look through this shit right now. i'm sorry for whatever mistakes you will find, but they're probably not as bad as the fuckup i made on a sex scene in an earlier chapter that i had to go and fix earlier lmao.   
> ENJOY

When returning home, Oikawa’s ears were instantly met by the beautiful sound of the Japanese language. Okay, maybe the words he heard weren’t exactly beautiful – it seemed that some girl was cussing out her boyfriend for flirting with others at his trip to god knows where and the next conversation Oikawa heard was an equally painful one, not exactly because of anyone’s anger but just from the awkwardness between the people trying to say goodbye – oh, yeah, they were in an airport. This was a place where people returned and left – some to never return. Oikawa was very happy to return and very happy to hear a language where they weren’t constantly rolling their r’s, both sounding like they were trying to clear their throat and like they were making fun of his inability to do it as smoothly (smooth? It sounded raspy) as them.

The problem about returning to a country where everyone understood Japanese was the fact that Iwaizumi wasn’t whispering sweet nothings in Oikawa’s ears whenever he wasn’t paying attention – of course, maybe that was also because he wasn’t in vacation mood, but Oikawa still missed that cute habit even though they had only just landed in Japan again.

When Oikawa turned on his phone, he remembered the message that he had done such a good job at ignoring on his way home that he wasn’t prepared enough when seeing it.

 

**[05:43] Tobio-chan:** _Can we meet?_

 

The time of arrival still matched local time in Paris, so Oikawa couldn’t really reprimand him for writing so early. In fact, he decided not to try and find any reason to do so at all, instead opting for a more mature reaction – completely ignoring it.

 

Soon, the message was gone from his mind once again and Oikawa easily fell into the routine of daily life after returning from their weekend trip, taking up a few extra shifts at his own work after having taken so much time off lately, not really minding the extra amount of work since Iwaizumi was working as well so often anyway.

In fact, even with the extra workload, Oikawa felt more energised and happy than ever, always looking forward to the next day, no matter if his plans were just hanging with friends or actual dates with his _boyfriend._

Today, Oikawa and Iwaizumi had decided to meet at Oikawa’s apartment, Iwaizumi going there earlier while Oikawa finished a late shift at work. Even Kenma had gotten to know him better and even though he mostly sneaked into his room when Iwaizumi was over, Oikawa was fine with letting Iwaizumi go to his place without being there (in fact, Kenma had been surprisingly social with him, but Oikawa had a theory that it was because Iwaizumi wasn’t as much of a snoop as the other people in their group of friends, plus they both enjoyed a comfortable silence over small-talk).

Oikawa had given Iwaizumi his spare key for the occasion and while it was only temporarily for the night, he liked the idea of Iwaizumi having the key to his apartment and it made him consider whether or not he should get a new copy for Iwaizumi, officially giving him a key to his apartment. Normally he’d prefer getting Iwaizumi’s key first, but they usually went there together and Oikawa already felt sort of like Iwaizumi had given him that freedom by constantly letting him stay over even when Iwaizumi wasn’t there himself. But the idea of Iwaizumi having the key to _his_ place with him everywhere – it made Oikawa feel all fuzzy and excited, especially when he remembered the key ring that he had already given him.

 

On the morning of Iwaizumi’s birthday, while they were eating the room service and talking about Iwaizumi’s plans for celebrating the day (or, to be specific, _not_ celebrating it), Oikawa had suddenly remembered the key ring he had found the day before and decided to give it to Iwaizumi, apologising for giving such a cheap present and vaguely mentioning that he’d give a more expensive one (but not promising, he’d never _promise_ to use money on people, that was against his principle). Iwaizumi hadn’t reacted that well, not commenting on his use of words, but grimacing, turning his face away to hide his reaction, and Oikawa was ashamed to admit to himself that it took him several seconds to realise what was wrong – Iwaizumi wasn’t annoyed with Oikawa not promising to do, but, just like _always_ , he didn’t like money being the constant subject. So Oikawa had pushed the tiny bag (in which the key ring was packed) into Iwaizumi’s hands, instantly busying himself with his cup of coffee to make him feel less pressured.

Iwaizumi took out the key ring and lifting it up, looking at it properly, then replied that it was more than enough of a present. He raised it towards the window, holding it next to the view of the _actual_ Eiffel tower and chuckled, making Oikawa feel happy that he at least had that to give, even if it wasn’t much. He had always preferred the gifts to the sentiment, but looking at Iwaizumi, he couldn’t help but feel happy to give something to him himself, however small it had been. The tiny figure dangled from Iwaizumi’s hand a few seconds before he quickly snatched it back, putting it into his pocket. He had then added that it was a perfect gift, motioning towards their whole breakfast on bed arrangement. Oikawa had simply turned his upper body to the side, looking around as if to prove a point, telling him that _sure_ , it was nice. But that it had more to do with them being in 5 star hotel in Paris. After replying, he had rolled his eyes and Iwaizumi simply grunted in reply, his eyebrows furrowed again, as he continued to pull another bite off his croissant, putting it into his mouth.

 

Back in Japan and the present, Oikawa was staring down at his own key, imagining Iwaizumi walking around with not just the key ring and his regular keys but also the key to Oikawa’s apartment. He smiled at the thought, lifting his training back over his shoulder before locking himself inside the stairwell, continuing up the stairs towards his own place.

He had just started working out after finding a fitness center near his place that had a sauna, deciding that just keeping in ‘good shape’ wasn’t enough now that he was in a serious relationship with such a fit man – he wanted to be even better. And he even paid for the membership himself (even if the price was modest), convinced that this was a good choice. He wanted to invest more in their relationship (and if that ‘investment’ was the small price of a monthly gym membership, it was worth it).

When he locked up the door, he had hoped to be met by the smell of dinner, maybe even Iwaizumi naked in a towel (a man can dream), but the apartment both sounded and felt strangely empty. He put down his sports bag and closed the door after him, taking off his shoes as he listened to hear if anyone was home – soon, he heard footsteps and Iwaizumi materialized in the door opening to the living room, looking… well, the closest word Oikawa could come up with right now was constipated.

“Hey, Iwa-chan! Is Kenma home?” Oikawa asked, keeping his voice chirpy, even though he was already feeling wary. He stepped closer to Iwaizumi for their usual welcome – it wasn’t always a kiss but at least some sort of physical contact – but Iwaizumi instantly took a step back, dodging him instinctively, and Oikawa’s wariness grew even further. “You okay?” he asked, this time more serious. Iwaizumi’s brows furrowed and he looked down, something Oikawa knew he rarely did – Iwaizumi seemed to always be able to keep eye contact even in uncomfortable situations.

“I’m… I can’t do this anymore, Oikawa,” he said. Oikawa chuckled, not really amused, but mostly to keep the mood high (was it ever?).

“I’m not following,” he said, smiling at Iwaizumi in confusion, tilting his head to the side, hoping it’d come across as endearing.

“This,” he gestured between himself and Oikawa with his hand, carding the other hand through his hair in frustration, “our relationship.”

At those words, Oikawa froze, his smile quickly fading.

“I think we should stop while the game is still good, before anyone gets hurt,” Iwaizumi then started explaining, but Oikawa had trouble actually focusing on his words. He had just come home from the gym, the evening he had envisioned being very different from how it was turning out.

When Oikawa wanted to invest more in their relationship, Iwaizumi was trying to pull out, cut the ties.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit too late for that?” Oikawa asked, annoyed that his voice was already so weak, but he had trouble even mustering enough power to speak those words loud enough to hear. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Oikawa had meant for a second, then realised. It’s already too late to stop before anyone gets hurt. In fact, Oikawa would probably be hurting a lot more if his head was clear – it felt a bit like the ground underneath him had disappeared, like he was falling, but when he looked down, he was standing on the wooden floor in his hallway, the fabric underneath his socks being the only thing separating his feet from it.

“I’m sorry,” Iwaizumi just said, and at least he sounded sincere. Not that it made Oikawa feel any better.

Iwaizumi then took a step back into the living room and grabbed a weekend bag that Oikawa hadn’t noticed before, putting it over his shoulder. Oikawa didn’t notice it, so he assumed that Iwaizumi had brought it with him himself – this wasn’t a spur of the moment thing or a joke. He had planned it.

“I’ve picked up my stuff, I’ll make sure to send you all of your things too,” Iwaizumi began, taking a step towards Oikawa, but Oikawa instantly figured out that he wasn’t trying to get closer to him, but to the door. To leave.

“Aren’t you even going to tell me why?” Oikawa asked, not trying to hide the anger this time, his voice slightly trembling already. His eyes weren’t stinging at all yet, meaning he wasn’t going to burst into tears, but he felt like there was a lump in his throat already.

“Would it make a difference?” Iwaizumi asked, suddenly sounding extremely exhausted. Oikawa didn’t feel as sorry for him as he would in any other situation. He clenched his fists, taking in a deep breath, but it didn’t stop the clogged feeling in his throat.

“Please,” he whispered, when Iwaizumi stepped over and quickly slipped on his shoes. He took a step towards him, lifting his arm to touch Iwaizumi, but decided against it, letting his arm fall to his side again. He didn’t really want to know why – he wanted to hear Iwaizumi say that there wasn’t any actual reasons for him to do something that stupid and reckless, for Iwaizumi to realize that it was all a big mistake and for Iwaizumi to run over, hug him tightly and tell Oikawa that he loved him. Iwaizumi did none of those things, instead grabbing for his jacket and turning to the door, inhaling deeply as if this last breath of air in Oikawa’s apartment was another thing he had come to pick up before leaving Oikawa completely.

He didn’t turn and look back at Oikawa again before opening the door and leaving the apartment.

Oikawa didn’t follow him.

 

After standing in the hallway for a while – he was unsure of how long, but his right knee was aching since he had been working out before coming home, before _those_ news – Oikawa mechanically made his way to the bathroom, then undressed and took a shower. He let himself spend some extra time under the warm water, letting out one cry but instantly stopping himself, feeling even weirder when he felt that the tears still refused to come out. His mind still hadn’t processed and accepted what Iwaizumi had said and he was left with that same feeling, like he was falling and waiting to hit the ground and feel the real pain. When he heard the front door open and soon someone shuffling towards Kenma’s room – that someone being Kenma himself, obviously – he turned off the water, grabbing for a towel and drying his body and hair before stepping down into the bathmat, making sure that he didn’t accidentally step on the cold tiles while drying the rest of his body.

When he re-emerged from his own room, having changed into a T-shirt and joggers, wearing the towel as a turban on his head to dry his hair more effectively, he went straight to Kenma’s room softly knocking the door twice. After a few seconds and some barely audible shuffling around, Kenma opened the door, a tired look on his face. The moment he got a look at Oikawa, he stepped to the side and opened the door further, letting Oikawa inside his room.

Normally, Kenma’s room was off limits. The place he would go to when he wanted to be alone. But Oikawa had desperately needed Kenma to be near him and Kenma was good enough at reading him to see that without Oikawa having to say anything (he wasn’t trying to put up an act – that would do nothing to help him and he had gone to Kenma’s room for comfort, to be near someone, not to act like nothing was wrong). Kenma opened a new tab in his browser, opening a page for a TV channel that showed documentaries and instantly put one on, placing the computer on his bed and then putting a hand on each of Oikawa’s shoulders, softly directing him to sit down.

“I’m not good at comforting words,” Kenma said quietly, his tone not revealing any specific emotion.

“No, I just need…” Oikawa began, but didn’t finish the sentence. He looked up at Kenma, who just nodded, sitting down next to him and not letting go of his shoulder, already aware that the physical contact was calming him down. At moments like this (not that he had ever really had a moment that could compare to this), Oikawa was happy that he shared his apartment with someone, especially since that someone was Kenma; because Kenma didn’t talk much, but he was willing to share his silences with Oikawa. And Oikawa wasn’t ready to talk just yet.

Some time after, they were lying down in bed, Kenma sitting up with Oikawa lying down next to him, while Kenma slowly combed his fingers through his wet hair, letting it air dry.

"I fucked up again," Oikawa finally said, looking up at Kenma who still had his eyes on the computer screen.

"You lied?" Kenma asked, keeping his voice neutral. Oikawa shook his head, positioning himself so he could see Kenma's face better.

"I let down my walls, one of the most stupid mistakes you can make," he said, shaking his head. And it really was. If there was a Sugar Dating 101 course, this would be one of the first things they'd teach you: Never let down your walls, the second you do, you're doomed. Of course, Oikawa was lucky that Iwaizumi hadn't tried to trick or cheat on him - but instead, he had done the same thing that happened to Oikawa the first time he was finally comfortable: left him.

And that was the problem, really. One of the main reasons sugar babies or puppies were attractive was because they knew they had to keep it fresh to make sure their sponsor never lost interest. Oikawa had stopped thinking like that, instead tricking himself into believing that if he was enjoying it, Iwaizumi must've been enjoying it as much as him. He didn't even know _why_ he had left.

"I guess you got a type," Kenma then said.

"Muscular guys with practical haircuts?" Oikawa's chuckle following his own reply wasn't amused.

"Relationships that will definitely end up in disaster," Kenma simply said, his monotone voice not revealing if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Wow, mean!" Oikawa said, slapping Kenma's knee - the thing closest to him - playfully and smiling sincerely, albeit weakly, for the first time since coming home.

"But true," Kenma said, his eyes already back on the computer screen. Oikawa sighed in reply, returning his attention to the screen as well.

"I guess you're right," he mumbled, still unsure of why he hadn't broken down or ripped something apart yet. It still didn't feel absolute. It didn't feel over.

 

Oikawa didn't do anything that night. He ate the dinner Kenma warmed up for him, retreated to his own bedroom, this time followed by Kenma with his laptop in his arms and then they watched more documentaries that he didn't care to remember the subject of until he fell asleep and when he woke up next morning, Kenma had returned to his own room, probably having left the second he was sure Oikawa had fallen asleep completely.

Oikawa was unsure of what to do, since he had woken up pretty late but didn't have work until the day after and he had no plans with anyone, since he hadn’t really planned on waking up alone.

He wanted to contact Iwaizumi, most of all, to talk it out and… Do whatever needed to do to fix it. But he didn't _know_ if that was allowed. One of the biggest cons of sugar dating was probably that he didn't know how to do normal relationships. Could you just call up someone after they broke up with you? Was that desperate?

Well, Oikawa _was_ desperate. But did he want people to know that? Did he want Iwaizumi to know that? If he was being completely honest with himself, he was aware that Iwaizumi would probably already know. Iwaizumi would probably also already know what Oikawa was going to say and have an answer to that. Oikawa needed a solid plan before he could do anything - he wasn't going to go ahead and just contact him and say what was on his mind. That was dangerous and it would probably not end up as successfully as Oikawa hoped. That shit only worked in movies, and while Oikawa was pretty good at coming up with inspirational speeches on the spot, he wasn’t going to take that chance.

So he stayed home - he stayed put - trying to think of his next step, what to do now. He hadn't prepared for things to turn out like this _at all_ and he had to start from scratch. In fact, he had hoped to never be in a situation like this ever.

With Ushijima, it had been different. It was business. Oikawa knew that, and while he felt hurt and betrayed, the worst part had been that he had to move out and how his life as he knew it was turned around completely. Ushijima was never a bad person (despite what Oikawa liked to think), so he had made sure that Oikawa hadn't ended up on the street, but that didn’t mean it had been a pleasant experience.

With Iwaizumi, it felt... messier. There were feelings involved. And Oikawa was not happy about that. It wasn't just his own feelings he had to take into considerations, but also Iwaizumi's. And Iwaizumi used to be very transparent with his feelings, not hiding when he wasn't satisfied with something, honest. Except with this. Oikawa hadn't been expecting it and therefore he hadn't been able to prepare for it.

Later that afternoon, Oikawa had finally begun feeling more comfortable with the eerie silence of the apartment - he was used to wanting people around, _especially_ when he wasn't feeling well and Kenma had work and then plans with Yaku, Kuroo and Lev in the evening - Oikawa hadn't even noticed the moment the four had started hanging out together, and the thought that their big plan to keep Oikawa and Iwaizumi together was what had started the relationships (was Yaku and Lev a thing? Oikawa wasn't even sure) was bittersweet to him, now that he was the one who was alone. He wasn't going to go ahead and ask Kenma to stay home with him, though, and honestly he knew that Kenma's company wasn't what he wanted. He had a very specific person in mind, someone who didn't seem to want the same any longer. He had tried putting on music, calling other old friends, having TV turned on in the background, but in the end it was all just distracting him from trying to think up a way to fix the problem at hand. Somehow the silence that had bothered him before turned out to be what comforted him as he sat down, completely focused on the task at hand.

That is, until the comfortable silence was broken by his phone buzzing on the table in front of him.

If anyone in the future would ask him his reaction, he'd lie and said he didn't do a full body flinch at the sound, and that he definitely didn't jump out after it instantly after, still hoping that it would be Iwaizumi even though he _knew_ it wasn't.

He was let down even further than expected by the name of the sender.

 

**[16:48] Tobio-chan:** _Thank you for inviting us to Iwaizumi-san's birthday, we both accepted the invitation. Are you sure you're not willing to meet before?_

 

Oikawa stared down at the phone in confusion after the initial annoyance over his former protégé had passed. Inviting them? He suddenly remembered his conversation with Iwaizumi's assistant, how Yachi Hitoka had spoken of them as friends. If she thought Kageyama was a friend of Oikawa's and still hadn't heard that Iwaizumi had ended it - Oikawa hoped he wouldn't be as cold as to tell her before he told Oikawa. It had only been a day and Oikawa still felt like he probably hadn't realised it completely yet, because his body still felt sort of numb and the silence was everything he'd usually hate and, even more important... he was really considering actually meeting up with Kageyama Tobio. Not to make peace, but to get the info about Iwaizumi's surprise birthday party that Friday. He hadn't gotten an invitation, since they had probably expected him to go with Iwaizumi to it, but he hadn't gotten the specific details either. If chatting up his former kouhai for half an hour or so was what it took to get that information, he was willing to do so. He sincerely hoped Iwaizumi knew just how much he was sacrificing for this.

 

After waiting an hour with his reply - he had to seem somehow busy - Oikawa arranged their meet up for the next day - afternoon, after he got off from work, at a coffee shop nearby, _not_ the one he used to go to with Iwaizumi, he would never take Tobio-chan to a sacred place like that.

The next day, Oikawa put on his favourite "I didn't put this on to impress you but I'm still looking impressive" outfit, the kind that normal people would wear to meet their exes or anyone that wronged them, to remind them of what they lost. Oikawa used his outfit to remind people of his superiority. He got off from work twenty minutes early and since he couldn't be early for their meeting, that meant he had to stay back and wait at work. He spent his time there chatting up (or trying to chat up) one of the younger employees, Kunimi, who was somehow more lazy on a good day than Oikawa was on his impatient ones, and if Oikawa was being completely honest, he was slightly jealous at this kid's talent at getting away with not doing anything. Even as Oikawa tried to chat him up, he was impassive as ever, instead choosing to stare down at his phone, simply nodding once in a while to show Oikawa that he wasn't ignoring his superior at work, even though he obviously was. When Oikawa left, Kunimi looked up for a few seconds to wave and then focused on his phone again, and Oikawa walked out the store, slightly offended that his topic of conversation wasn’t enough to interest the kid, but suddenly remembering where he was going to now – a final showdown between himself and his former protégé. Or, well, a conversation.

Kageyama was there early, which didn’t surprise Oikawa the least and he looked up the second Oikawa entered the coffee shop, moving to stand up. Oikawa walked over, chin lifted and eyebrows furrowed.

“Thank you for meeting me, Oikawa-san,” Kageyama said as they walked over to stand in line.

“I assume you’re going to make it worth my while,” Oikawa said, forcing out a fake smile. Kageyama opened his mouth to reply, then closed it and turned towards the desk to place his order. Oikawa hadn’t even realised that it was their turn, but of course Kageyama kept an overview of what was happening around them at the same time.

“A cappuccino and…” he turned to look at Oikawa, an eyebrow raised. Oikawa instantly understood what that meant, Kageyama actually offering to pay his coffee. A peace offering, he assumed. He wasn’t sure he was ready for the peace, but the coffee he was definitely going to accept.

“A large caramel frappuccino with two shots of espresso,” he said, moving towards the area where people waited for coffee as Kageyama paid for their orders. Kageyama quickly followed, hands in his jacket pockets.

“Yachi said that you and her boss are, uh–“ Kageyama began, but Oikawa lifted a hand to stop him before he said or guessed anything.

“In a relationship,” he said, letting his hand fall to rest on his hip again, giving Kageyama what he knew must’ve been a saccharine smile. “So Yachi invited you?” he asked, and Kageyama nodded.

“Yes, she and Hinata are pretty close, I guess, and she said that every _friend_ of yours should be invited to Iwaizumi-san’s party,” Kageyama said, raising an eyebrow as he put emphasis on the word ‘friend’ as if to show that he was well aware that Oikawa did not view him as anything of the sort. The barista called out their order and they took their cups, returning to the table Kageyama had been sitting at. When Oikawa was seated and had a taste from his frappuccino, he turned to smile at Kageyama overly sweetly.

“Well yes, despite what Tobio-chan thinks of me, I don’t actually mind being near you as long as you’re not trying to steal my boyfriend,” he said, tilting his head to the side.

“Oikawa-san, I wasn’t trying to—“ Kageyama instantly began, but Oikawa cut in again.

“Spare me, for that’s _exactly_ what you did, even after I taught you how to play the game,” he said, holding up the palm of his hand to Kageyama’s head as if to keep him from talking, lifting his cup to take another sip from his frappuccino.

”I did exactly as you taught me to do, Oikawa-san,” Kageyama said calmly after Oikawa had let his hand fall to rest on the table again.

”I did not teach you to _betray_ me!” Oikawa said, hissing to hold back from raising his voice since they were still in a public space.

“You got me fired from the department store, I lost my job,” Kageyama said, his voice remaining calm.

“You got me thrown out of my home!” Oikawa bit back, unable to keep as calm, which he felt only proved the fact that _he_ was the one wronged in this situation, not his useless former kouhai. “Even after all that, I still helped you when you came to me for advice on Chibi-chan.” At those words, Kageyama, who had been raising his hand as if to physically break in and interrupt his sentence, faltered. He let his hand fall down to his cup, looking down.

“Thank you for that,” he said sincerely, barely audible. Oikawa just smiled, pleased but bittersweet. He had done the right thing, but he had been too angry with Kageyama to feel good about it back then. Not that he had ever regretted doing it or would’ve chosen differently, but he still felt like he had given so much and received so little, exactly the thing he wanted to avoid.

Oikawa breathed in deep to calm himself down. “I don’t want to hear you try and justify your actions - I get it, okay? Doesn’t change the fact that I’m mad about it,” he said, his voice even calmer, deeper, than he had expected to be able to muster at such a short notice.

“I’m sorry,” Kageyama said quietly, taking a sip from his coffee as he waited for Oikawa to react.

“I forgive you. But I’m not interested in being ‘friends’ or whatever again,” Oikawa said calmly, drinking from his own coffee as he waited a bit. Then he remembered why he was there. “So, you and Hinata are both coming on Friday at…”

“8 in the evening,” Kageyama said, helpfully. “I’m surprised the company lets them have parties in the office building.”

Bingo. Oikawa smirked around the straw of his cup. “That’s all I wanted to hear, my dear Tobio-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER: OIKAWA CRASHING THE PARTYYY
> 
> I found out that I handed in the wrong document in one of my exams so i have to retake it and i just went "oh well oikawa is gonna feel the same way" so the whole feeling like falling and not really feeling/realizing it at first but still being in this weird as fuck pain limbo is just. i think i failed in conveying that pretty spectacularly. but the reason oikawa isn't a sobbing mess yet is bc he's not giving up that quickly heh.
> 
> thank you to everyone who still reads and takes time to comment and/or like, i love and appreciate you all so much


	17. Not that into parties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa goes to the party, hoping that he can talking Iwaizumi into giving what they had another chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i'm so sorry for being so slow at updating, shit.  
> my goal was/is to finish this before 2017 but, uh, well. next chapter should be up before bc i look forward to writing it lmao (i say that every time, don't i?) but idk if the last one will. I _think_ it'll stay at 19 chapters, but there will possibly be a 20th chapter (just an epilogue)
> 
> im sooo fucking busy with uni right now holy shit guys, but i finally finished this and i haven't even read it through in fear of just deleting it all in frustration, im SO STUCK and so sorry. but I hope it isn't too terrible.

Under normal circumstances, Oikawa would've acted differently. If the party had gone as he had planned for it to do, he'd have walked in with Iwaizumi's hand in his, small talked with all of their friends in common, maybe even found a slightly more dramatic way to make their entrance memorable and, most importantly, made sure to dress to impress.

But this wasn't normal circumstances and Oikawa sure as hell didn't want a dramatic entrance or to look over-dressed. It was important to look good, of course, more so than ever, so he could remind Iwaizumi of what he was missing out on, but he couldn't be too late or too early, risking a situation where he'd gather too much attention, which, under normal circumstances, he would not have a problem with at all, but right now he wasn't sure it would turn out to be the good kind of attention and he didn't know how many people knew about their situation.

Iwaizumi was a private person, but several of his co-workers were considered friends of his - the reason why his workplace was even holding a surprise party for him in the first place - and Oikawa didn't want to risk any of them pulling him out of there before he got what he had to say.

When he arrived in a simple, classic outfit with his hair fixed so it looked careless but cool and his favourite cologne on, he could act like his heart wasn't racing, like he wasn't scared of the outcome of his actions tonight would be. He was well aware that however the events went tonight, it would prove to be crucial to how their life would turn out after that.

He didn’t meet any other partygoers on his way up that he knew and the elevator ride was silent, only managing to build up his nerves further.

When the elevator came to the right floor, a ‘ding’ made him jump slightly, but he quickly got over it, stepping out of the elevator and into the party. Yachi stood in the entrance talking to other newcomers that Oikawa didn't instantly recognize, making sure that everyone were getting their drinks, but the second she saw him, she forgot whatever conversation she had going on and came running, making Oikawa chuckle slightly, reminding him of simpler times (not even more than a week ago, that is).

"Oikawa-san!" she said, her shrill, nervous voice not doing much to the nerves he were still fighting down. "Iwaizumi-san said you weren't coming, but I'm happy to see you here!" she said, smiling widely at him, something in her eyes telling Oikawa that she knew _something_ was wrong - probably not everything though, since she still seemed sincerely happy that he was there, perhaps hoping for the same thing as Oikawa, that he could talk some sense into Iwaizumi. Oikawa realised that he probably wasn't the only one who'd been having a really fucking bad week after Iwaizumi said goodbye, and just because Iwaizumi had, well, left, it didn't mean that all they had didn't matter to him - of course it didn't. If Oikawa really thought so, he wouldn't have shown up at the party to win him back either. And even though he was mad at Iwaizumi, he missed him like crazy and sincerely hoped that the last days hadn't been too rough with all of the work Oikawa knew he'd been drowning in already probably not helping him (or maybe it did keep him busy, what would Oikawa know?).

Someone walked by with a tray of drinks and Yachi forced one into Oikawa's hand before he could even say yes to it, running towards the other newcomers, probably busy with greeting every guest, leaving Oikawa to find someone else to talk to.

“Oikawa-san?” a quiet voice spoke and when Oikawa looked towards where the sound came from, his breath hitched. Akaashi Keiji, the one who had spoken, was on his way over and just a few steps behind him Oikawa could see Bokuto following with a broad smile and two of the same drink Oikawa had been given when he arrived. Akaashi had been working closely with Iwaizumi on whatever he was working on at the moment and there was a risk that Iwaizumi had told him what was going on between him and Oikawa – or at least that he had noticed that _something_ wasn’t quite right.

“Oikawa, hey hey hey!” Bokuto said, stepping in and handing Akaashi the second drink he was holding, taking a sip of his own. “How’s it going? Haven’t seen much of you for the past—“ Bokuto began, but Akaashi lifted his hand in the air to stop him, giving Bokuto a sharp look. Oikawa hadn’t felt that grateful to him for a long while.

“Iwaizumi-san has been busy, there’s been no time for visits like I told you,” Akaashi explained, raising an eyebrow as Bokuto thought it through, accepting the explanation with a nod.

"Everyone! He's coming," someone yelled from over by the elevators and everyone instantly started moving around, hushing each other as the lights were turned off, some people halfheartedly hiding behind tables and such. Oikawa, Bokuto and Akaashi were a bit further from the entrance and moved closer, awaiting the entrance as the lights on the elevator turned on, signaling that it had reached their floor and soon after, the doors opened as Kuroo and Iwaizumi stepped out, Iwaizumi still in a shirt from work, his blazer folded over his arm and a briefcase in his hand as he was half turned towards Kuroo, holding back a yawn.

"This better be im--" he began, but was cut off as the lights turned on and everyone stepped forward, yelling "SURPRISE!" as the few people who did hide jumped forward from their hiding places.

"Congratulations, Iwaizumi-san!" Yachi said, jumping forwards with a drink for both Kuroo and Iwaizumi as the crowd slowly dissipated, most people moving towards Iwaizumi to congratulate him even though it was a week late, others moving towards the area with more drinks since the actual place where they were supposed to hold the party wasn't right in the hall by the elevators.

"Move along, everyone!" Kuroo yelled, ushering people in towards the designated party spot. Iwaizumi chose that exact moment to look up, locking eyes with Oikawa instantly. Oikawa had to give it to him, he hid his surprise well - or maybe he expected him to come - and the subtle nod in Oikawa's direction was the only thing he did to show that he had acknowledged Oikawa's presence.

"Iwaizumi!" Bokuto said out loud, bolting for him in excitement to say his congratulations as well, leaving Oikawa hanging behind alone with Akaashi, who eyed him with an unreadable expression.

"Sooo," Oikawa mumbled, taking a sip from his glass, staring down at the bottom of it instead of trying to bring up conversation, unsure of what to say.

"Iwaizumi-san has been working extremely hard the past week," Akaashi said, turning towards Oikawa, obviously more intent on actually talking.

"Oh," Oikawa mumbled, straightening his back and reminding himself not to show his weakness - he had to act like he wasn't nervous. Just because he hadn't been in a situation like this at all before it didn't mean he was going to fuck it up.

"And he hasn't actually told me about whatever personal issues you two have going on right now, but I appreciate that you showed up here to support him," Akaashi said, this time taking a sip from his own drink, turning away slightly as he scanned the crowd, as if he felt awkward the instance after he had said what he wanted to. But his words had calmed Oikawa somehow - Iwaizumi had been affected by the breakup (of course he had - Oikawa felt bad for even being slightly happy about that, not because he wanted Iwaizumi to feel worse while already being neck-deep in work, but because it meant he hadn't just dumped Oikawa because he was a waste of time or something. Oikawa knew that wasn't the case, but the dramatic and slightly (only slightly) insecure part of him couldn't help but wonder. And it was nice to know that wasn't the case.

Most of the guests were all trying to go and greet the guest of honour, but, like a blessing from above, Kuroo appeared beside Oikawa, saving him from awkwardly standing alone, too anxious about the confrontation he was about to have to turn on his usual charm.

"How are you doing? I haven't seen you the last couple of days," Kuroo said, sending Oikawa a slightly-too-friendly smile, probably trying to hide the fact that he was curious about it. That meant Kenma hadn't said much, a huge relief to Oikawa, even though he hadn't expected his friend to do so.

"Ah, Iwa-chan is so busy with work, we figured he needed some space," Oikawa said, not exactly lying.

"Well, you're not lying about the workload..." Kuroo mumbled, chuckling as he grabbed a drink from someone with a tray walking past. "He chugs coffee like a machine, and normally he doesn't even like drinking the cafeteria one, he used to go to a coffee shop nearby," Kuroo explained, unknowingly giving Oikawa more information that he probably knew. Iwaizumi wasn't just avoiding Oikawa as a topic of conversation, he was avoiding the memories too. The place they met. Oikawa was too inexperienced in love to know if that was a good or a bad sign - he, for one, had been turning over all of the events up until the--... until the breakup, trying to find out if he could've done something differently. Iwaizumi had refused to think about the two of them altogether.

Somewhere in the middle of the room, someone clicked two glasses towards each other for a speech, clearing their throat.

"May I please have everyone's attention?" Iwaizumi asked, his voice raised for everyone to hear. When people had turned to look at him, he handed over the glass to someone - Yachi, Oikawa recognised - in the background, who nervously shuffled back, not liking the attention. Iwaizumi smiled at her, turning towards the crowd again. "I'd like to say thank you all for planning this party and showing up, first of all," he said, giving people a grateful, but not exactly super excited smile.

Oikawa distantly remembered him saying he wasn't really that into celebrating birthdays in the first place and to be honest, Oikawa couldn't imagine him enjoying the spotlight that much either, that's why Oikawa had planned on going there _with_ Iwaizumi, helping with making the night more exciting for him. Well, that plan had definitely backfired. Maybe Oikawa _could_ help with making the night 'exciting' but, if it went wrong, it probably wouldn't be the good kind. He really did hope Iwaizumi would listen to him and see sense. Staring at Iwaizumi in the middle of the room, he felt a tug at his heart, no, his whole body. He wanted to run towards him, but he knew he had to hold back - he had missed Iwaizumi so much and, from what he had heard from others until now, he wasn't the only one distressed by the split, even if Iwaizumi had been the one ending it. No, not ending it. Oikawa refused to use that word - it wasn't over yet and he was going to prove that tonight.

"I'm happy and grateful for knowing you all, and I'd like to say thanks to especially all of the people here at work who's supported the department in this recent case. I don't regret taking on the responsibility, because even though the risk is high right now, we've all been doing the right thing all along and I'm still hopeful we'll be successful now that the lawsuit against us is official. We have some of the best lawyers I know on our hand and, more importantly, justice. Thank you so much for coming and I'm grateful for all of the support. Let tonight be an evening of celebration!" He raised the glass and everyone mirrored his action.

"Cheers!" people said in unison, raising their glasses and drinking, before people started moving over, both to congratulate him and talk to him about the speech. The speech that Oikawa was still processing.

He wasn't just busy with his job - he had an actual issue, not just an actual issue but a _lawsuit_. And one that he had taken responsibility for. Did that mean he'd lose his job if they lost? Or maybe even pay? Oikawa involuntarily shivered at the thought but, surprisingly, it wasn't because he was sad that Iwaizumi wasn't rich for his own sake, but because the idea of that happening to the person he cared about scared him. Was this why Iwaizumi had wanted to end it? Oikawa looked up, his eyes scanning the crowd for him, an even stronger urge to run towards him swelling up in his chest, but when he saw Iwaizumi it wasn't in the middle of the crowd being congratulated, but on his way out, talking with none other than Kageyama Tobio in hushed whispers. Oikawa scrunched his nose instinctively, raising an eyebrow.

He turned towards Kuroo to excuse himself, quickly realising that Kuroo had already moved on to talk to someone. Oh, well, Oikawa probably hadn't looked like he was able to hold a conversation as he had looked at Iwaizumi giving the speech, so he couldn't really blame him for that one. Instead he started moving towards the direction Iwaizumi and his former protégé had just gone, keeping his distance but still looking around discreetly, trying to spot them again. After seeing the glimpse of a silhouette walking down the hallway, away from the place where the guests were, Oikawa followed in haste, noting to himself that this was the way towards Iwaizumi's office.

He hadn't been wrong about Iwaizumi's office being where they were going and he only just saw Kageyama pushing the door to close, but not closing it completely, as if not expecting anyone to intrude. _Well_ , people tended to not count Oikawa into those expectations, or maybe he was just good at defying them. No matter what, he was happy that this went in his favour as he sneaked closer, turning his ear towards the door so he could hear without getting too close.

He had planned on finding Iwaizumi alone and using that chance to talk to him, but at least he could grab him and pull him aside when he was finished discussing whatever he was talking about with Kageyama Tobio (of all people...) and finally get to clear the air, hopefully making Iwaizumi realise his mistake.

"He's a good guy," Kageyama said in a hushed voice from behind the door. "I look up to him a lot," he added. Oikawa realised he was talking about _him._ He pursed his lips, not knowing if he should laugh in annoyance or feel slightly proud.

"I know that," Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa was unsure if he heard a snicker from him, not able to hear everything from all the way out there without standing right up against the door. He moved a bit closer, making sure to step quietly. "But are you seriously trying to talk me into going back to him?" he asked. Oikawa covered his mouth with his hand to keep from gasping, staring at the door. Of course Kageyama had put 2 and 2 together from the speech and Oikawa's behaviour. Of _course_ he had realised that Iwaizumi had ended it. What Oikawa hadn't expected was Kageyama advocating for Iwaizumi to give Oikawa another chance. Kageyama Tobio of all people.

"Yes, I am," Kageyama answered, earning what Oikawa could this time clearly hear was a chuckle from Iwaizumi.

"It's not because of him, though. I'm just not interested in being in a relationship anymore," Iwaizumi explained calmly and Oikawa could _hear_ he was lying and he was sort of proud - both of Iwaizumi for doing it so well, because he had seemed to prefer the truth over lying around Oikawa _and_ of himself for actually being able to see through Iwaizumi's lie simply by listening to him.

"Iwaizumi-san, I do understand, but deep down, he's a good guy," Kageyama then said. Oikawa scrunched his nose, frowning at the word. _Deep down?_

"Deep down?" Iwaizumi repeated him - and Oikawa's thoughts - out loud in question, chuckling again.

"Really, _really_ deep down," Kageyama elaborated, to which Oikawa's frown only deepened. Was he trying to help Oikawa or not?

"I know who Oikawa is, Kageyama-kun," Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa could hear him moving around in the office. Oikawa jumped to the side so at least he'd be hidden behind the door if Iwaizumi was moving outside. He didn't though, and when the next time his voice spoke, he seemed further away from the only slightly opened door. "If his personality was the problem, the relationship would've ended a lot earlier, I think," Iwaizumi said again, this time earning a chuckle from Kageyama, to which Oikawa could only frown even further at. Were they making fun of him or discussing getting back together again? Because Oikawa could be sure he hadn't heard much else than just them insulting him in turns.

"Okay, I'm sorry for asking then, but please do reconsider," Kageyama said. Less than two seconds later, the door opened and Kageyama stepped out. Oikawa had jumped back so he could look as if he had just arrived, but judging from Kageyama's expression, he wasn't buying it. For a second he looked at Oikawa with what Oikawa could only describe as sympathy. He moved along towards the party space again when Oikawa grimaced at him and Oikawa turned his attention to the door, stepping inside where he knew Iwaizumi still was, closing the door behind him, this time completely so he wouldn't have to deal with other eavesdroppers (than himself).

He turned around to Iwaizumi, who was looking at him with an unhappy expression, his brows furrowed. He didn’t make any sign at wanting to start the conversation, instead waiting for Oikawa to say something.

"So this is why you broke up with me?" Oikawa asked, and Iwaizumi's expression said it all. "Because of work?" Oikawa said again, not trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

"Yes," Iwaizumi began, taking a step back, as if to put distance between them. "It's selfish, I know, but I just can't stand the thought of losing everything I've worked for and then having to lose you after that too," he said, as if the two went together naturally. As if Oikawa wouldn't even think twice about leaving him if he didn't have work (once, Oikawa would've thought so too – but after what they had been though, it was rude and unfair and _hurtful_ that Iwaizumi would even think so, think that of him). "So I decided to set you free, so you won't have to make that choice," Iwaizumi then said, looking up at Oikawa again, his eyes speaking just as clearly as his words, begging for Oikawa to accept his explanation.

"But you're not even giving me the chance to choose," Oikawa said quietly, looking down at his hands, wanting to do something but hating the feeling of not knowing _what_ to do. When he looked up, Iwaizumi's expression had changed - he was no longer hiding how exhausted he was and the tired expression made Oikawa notice all the things that hadn't really popped out before - the less glowy skin than usual, the slightly darker bags under his eyes, his heavier eyelids and the stress wrinkle between his eyebrows that Oikawa had known from the start wasn't the same as the one he got from frowning to hold in a smile whenever Oikawa did something stupid. And Oikawa remembered that he hadn't been the only one who had been going through some rough days - in fact, Iwaizumi's life had been rougher than usual for quite a while now and Oikawa hadn't done enough to help him with managing, instead just hoping for it to be over.

"Oikawa, _please,_ just leave," Iwaizumi asked, his voice neither forceful nor demanding, but just _pleading_ and sure, but unsure at the same time _._

And Oikawa realised that for all his insecurities, all his fears and inner, deeper beliefs that he really wasn’t enough, he understood. Iwaizumi had, through their whole time together, been not just steady and strong, confident in himself but also in Oikawa, having believed him when even Oikawa had doubted himself, his intentions and his own beliefs. But to expect all that from a man was unfair; no one was born without fear and for Oikawa to say that he did not understand or respect Iwaizumi's doubts was completely unfair. If he would not even himself give in completely, he shouldn't expect another man to believe that he would. Right now, Oikawa wanted and loved Iwaizumi - he thought back to what Sugawara had said, but their situations were oh so different. There was a huge divide between giving up the life as a sugar puppy for a comfortable life with a man who could fill out your needs and giving up that life for someone who was, well, poor. That went again everything he worked for and stood for, and if he couldn't even to find the answer for himself, he couldn't expect Iwaizumi to blindly trust that he'd pick love over he life he had been building up for himself and dreamt about ever since he learned how the world worked. He couldn't demand that Iwaizumi gave him the benefit of the doubt when he wouldn't have done so himself, when the arguments against were as clear as the sky. If Oikawa could say that he'd pick Iwaizumi forever and always no matter what 100% earnestly, it would be different. And Oikawa wouldn't have felt the fight slowly leaving his body and spirit either. He couldn't do that to Iwaizumi and leave him in the unknown, especially when he didn't even know so himself.

“O-okay. If you’re sure,” he said, keeping his voice low in fear of it breaking. He inhaled deeply, trying to focus on letting the air flow all the way down to his stomach and then turned around. “Okay, Iwa-chan,” He whispered, watching Iwaizumi take a step closer to the door, knuckles clenched.

“I’m sorry, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi said before exiting the room, leaving Oikawa alone in his office.

Taking another deep, this time more shaky breath, Oikawa calmed himself down enough to be able to leave the room without breaking into tears. He had to leave - not just the room. The party. The building, preferably the town or maybe the continent if he could have it his way. Just hide away in a hole in the fucking ground for a little while until it didn't feel like the ground was slowly crumbling away under him. He stepped out into the hallway, turned away from where the music and sounds of laughter came from, walking towards the elevator, eternally grateful that the party was the other way than the exit.

On his way, he ran into a short, jumpy orange haired young man whom he instantly recognised. Kageyama Tobio's partner. Hinata Shouyou.

"Chibi-chan," he said, forcing out the breath he had been holding in, ignoring the fact that it came out more like a snarl than an exhale.

"Great Ki– I-I mean, Oikawa-san!" Hinata said, jumping back and looking to the side, as if he was looking for witnesses to see if Oikawa would attack him or something. Well, the kid wasn't completely senseless, Oikawa thought to himself, snorting at his own train of thought, but it still came out forced. "I can't find the toilets," Hinata tried again, looking around at the many doors in the hallway. Oikawa shrugged, stepping to the side so he could move around him towards the exit.

"I don't know. Ask Tobio-chan, he can help you," Oikawa said and was instantly met with a frantic nod from Hinata, who let him pass and seemed to shrink in unlike how he had acted the other times Oikawa had met him, with a bravado to match bigger, stronger men than anyone Oikawa knew. Hinata started to move down the hallway, back towards the party but seemed to stop when halfway there.

"Uh, have a nice evening?" he said, obviously nervous, forming it as a question, probably because he had figured out that Oikawa was on his way to leave the party. Oikawa couldn't help but frown in irritation, looking down the younger man again.

"I guess I'm quite happy that Tobio-chan found you," Oikawa said in reply, not sure why he said that out loud. The kid looked at him in confusion, obviously not understanding his words. Oikawa turned around and walked towards the exit, not waiting for him to realise the meaning behind the word before he went inside the elevator, leaving the party - and Iwaizumi - behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well. yikes. next chapter won't be as unhappy, i think. or the last one. well, you guys should know by now that happy wholesome iwaoi is my Ultimate Kink™ and i know it's fun to leave people in the dark to wait, but really. don't worry. love prevails as they say.
> 
> hmu on twitter @cheatos_ if you wanna talk about iwaoi or hq (SEASON 3 ENDED ALREADY HOLY SHIT) and if you're interested, i posted another fic in the meantime! it's a shorter one about highschool iwaoi and is mostly just a little fun thing, very fluffy and happy!
> 
> thank you so much for staying with me on this hellride i'm so sorry for being so terrible TnT i try for all of you but mental health and UNI. GROUP. PROJECTS. WHAT THE FUCK
> 
> sorry for the not very interesting kageyama and hinata-writing in this chapter as well, i actually do have a backstory for them (tbh there's more to everyone in the story XD) but it's not really the focus and TnT idk. im just so sorry guys, i know this fic is meh, but i don't wanna leave it unfinished for the people who are so kind and supportive!!


	18. Time waits for no one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I swear to god,” Oikawa said, when he heard the usual _‘Hanamaki here’_ after the call was picked up in the other end. “If this is some kind of ‘rebound’ plan of yours…” he began, taking a deep breath, too angry to finish the sentence. The guilty silence on the other end of the line said it all. “I can’t believe this,” Oikawa just whispered, ending the call and turning around to open the door again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CRY IM FINALLY DONE AND SO VERY SORRY
> 
> i told you all about the uni project right? it was hell. i didn't write at all almost all of december. i cried almost every day. group projects are a mess, especially when you're in a group with someone who makes it 20000% harder for everyone else. i may be weak but i wasn't the only one crying, i actually didn't even cry as much as the others. that's how bad this person was.  
> and after that i had to like. reload, sleep a lot. go through shit. and i wasn't rly in a mental place where i could sit down and write oikawa feeling like shit too so. yeah. i really am sorry.  
> so, yeah. stuff happened. it's 2017 i'm a failure but i will finish and hopefully satisfy you, the best and dearest readers!!!

Sometimes things just don’t end up the way you want them to. Life isn’t some movie or novel about true love and romance and even though sometimes it feels as good as fiction, it’s not. And it won’t last.

Usually, Oikawa was aware of this – usually, he didn’t expect more. He hadn’t really seen himself as a big romantic, even if he appreciated the efforts. Because that was usually what he preferred – the efforts. The gifts. Not the stupid part with _feelings_ because feelings changed, feelings could hurt and right now, his feelings sure as hell were hurting him.

This time, Oikawa didn’t go look for Kenma when he came home. The idea of finding comfort in other people didn’t sound appealing to him at all and neither did retail therapy or any of his usual coping methods. Instead, he kicked off his shoes and went straight for his own room, locking the door after him – he didn’t even remember the last time he had used his lock – and threw himself on his bead, head-first into the pillow. He wished he would just disappear into the bed and not exist for a while, but no matter how long he was lying there, nothing happened. After a while, he turned around so he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were prickling slightly, but no matter how many times he blinked, the sensation didn’t go away – he didn’t exactly _want_ to cry, but he sort of hoped that crying it out would stop the sinking feeling in his chest a bit, because it sort of felt like this empty whole, pulling at him from the inside, slowly expanding and eating him whole. Fuck, he just wanted to cry, but the annoying feeling in his eyes were them being _dry,_ not on the verge of tears and he felt like someone had put a lid on his tear ducts, making it impossible for him to actually get to the bottom of it and deal with the pain. Or maybe he just wasn’t ready for it. He hadn’t been in a situation like this ever, and while he wasn’t surprised at the terrifying feeling of shame and disappointment that being let down, being turned down, being _left_ had filled him with, the worst part was trying to think back to their time together. He couldn’t bring up any other mental image of Iwaizumi than the one he had given him in the end, so obviously hurt, doubtful and sad about leaving him, yet determined and not budging the least. Iwaizumi hadn’t been about to turn around and run into Oikawa’s arms, Iwaizumi wasn’t going to lie down in bed tonight, regretting or thinking about what he could have done to change it. Oikawa couldn’t cry either, and he couldn’t come up with any solution to things not ending up like this that didn’t involve Iwaizumi quitting his job, basically running away from the problems instead of actually solving them. Staring at the wall for so long made him restless and after turning around in the bed for a while, he decided to go shower instead, just to make himself do _something_. Maybe the water could clear his head. Maybe he could find some sort of solution to this problem, because right now, just considering thinking about the future made his head hurt. Making himself get up and go to the bathroom for the shower was work enough in itself, but it was nice to do _something_ , creating some false sense of productivity.

He turned on the water and changed the temperature to exactly as hot as he could handle and then just a tad more, letting his body burn for a while before blushing into a slight pink but getting used to the too-warm temperature. He sort of wished that those stupid metaphors in books were actually real, that showering somehow could make him feel like he was washing off the pain or the events of the night, but real life wasn’t like that. Things weren’t like you wanted them to be and while he had been lulled into some fake version of belonging in his relationship with Iwaizumi; real life had finally caught up and pulled the rug away from under him.

Under the soft spray of the showerhead over him, Oikawa’s tears finally fell. And they didn’t stop. He had expected it to go as it usually did – you cried, you cried a bit more and then you sniffled, but then it’d be okay and you’d feel a bit better, a bit less empty. Instead, Oikawa had to lean up against the wall, the strain from standing in the shower for so long finally making its way to his legs as the water slowly turned colder until there was no hot water left. But unlike the hot water reserve, Oikawa’s tears seemed endless, and there was no satisfaction in shedding them.

There was one good thing about crying – after some time, he was shaking from the cold and he somehow managed to make his way to his own bedroom again, exhausted enough to fall asleep almost instantly, but not too soon to notice that the sheets no longer had a trace of Iwaizumi’s smell. The last traces of him had faded from Oikawa’s place, and now all he had was that stupid mental image from right before he walked out on him, right before he said goodbye. The image stayed and followed him into his sleep.

 

The next morning, Oikawa woke up from a long, heavy night of sleep feeling not the least bit refreshed or healed. Crying did not help. He managed to crawl out from his room, his duvet over his shoulders like a shawl. He rearranged it again after sitting down in the sofa, ignoring Kenma's eyes on him.

"Do you want breakfast?" Kenma asked him, his voice low and monotone, not baring any emotion. So unlike Iwaizumi's strong, clear voice and how he never tried to hide the intention behind his words.

"I'm not hungry," Oikawa huffed, pouting as he stared at the tv, trying to will it to turn on without having to actually look around for the remote.

"I'll make you some breakfast," Kenma said after some time, pushing his computer off his lap and standing up.

"Do I look that bad?" Oikawa asked, earning nothing but a frown in reply from Kenma, the answer more clear than if he had held up a mirror for Oikawa to see himself. When Kenma walked to the kitchen, Oikawa huffed, pulling up the duvet further. "You can't even cook, I don't want you to poison me," he yelled out to the kitchen where he could hear Kenma open the fridge.

"I'm just heating some leftover rice," Kenma replied, not quite yelling, but speaking loud enough for Oikawa to hear from the kitchen. Oikawa pouted, not really sure what to say back to that.

"M'kay then," he gave in, settling in further on the couch, letting himself be babied a bit.

 

Kenma knew. Of course Kenma knew what had happened. He had known about Oikawa's plan and his odds before he went to the party, and from Oikawa's reaction, he didn't need to ask to know how it went for Oikawa.

"I'm really sorry, Tooru," he said calmly, a hand on Oikawa's shoulder, his touch more comforting than his words - both men knew this, Kenma had never tried to fool anyone into thinking otherwise and Oikawa didn't expect anything else from him either. No words could fix how Oikawa felt, even though he wished there was some magical spell, a line of words, that'd make it hurt just a little less.

"So, how's it going with you and Kuroo?" Oikawa choked out, the first thing he could think about, blinking fast to stop the tears before they had a chance to fall.

"We're talking about you," Kenma said, reaching over for his computer. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?" he asked and Oikawa nodded gratefully. It was stupid of him to ask in the first place, because honestly he wasn't sure that he was even in a place where he wanted to hear about successful relationships, especially not between his and Iwaizumi's friends. Scratch that, he was pretty sure he didn't want to hear about that. He felt too sorry to be able to properly enjoy his friends' happiness, not that he was straight up envying them, but listening to anyone gush about how happy they were sounded very not like something he was interested in at that moment. Not that Kenma had ever been the kind of person to gush, even if he was head over heels in love (honestly, Oikawa couldn't even imagine him like that - he had noticed Kenma's shy smiles at his phone or his caring glances at him when they were together, but Kenma was just as private with romantic love as with friendship and had never been one for PDA or bragging, luckily for Oikawa).

 

It didn’t get any better. Kenma tried to get Oikawa out of the house after a few days, but he only left it if necessary, like for work - but only after he had called in sick for 2 days (they were _right_ after it happened and two days in a row, he didn’t feel that bad about it). Kenma wasn’t the only one who tried, of course. Oikawa had more friends than one and they all tried, but Oikawa was persistent. Or, well, he didn’t really fight them much; he just stayed in his place, shooting down offer after offer.

 

“Are you really not going to leave the house?” Hanamaki said, plopping the bag of food down on the dining table. Oikawa stuck his head out from what had turned to a halfway pillow fort full of blankets, pillows and everything to make him feel a little less shitty (it didn’t help), and eyed the bag.

“What’s that?” he asked, looking between the bag and Hanamaki.

“Issei’s cooking, not mine,” Hanamaki said, squinting his eyes at Oikawa, but then walked over and sat down on the sofa next to Oikawa. “You look like shit,” he said simply, dragging an arm around Oikawa’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Makki. I’m so happy you’re here to support me in my rough times—” Oikawa began, but Hanamaki cut him off.

“As your best friend, I can’t keep letting you do this to yourself. You have to get out in the world again—“

“—I don’t want to go to the movies with you _or_ Mattsun,” Oikawa mumbled.

“No, I mean. Get out. Meet people again,” Makki elaborated, wiggling his brows down at Oikawa, who pouted up at him.

“No,” Oikawa simply replied, not feeling the need to explain further.

“Oikawa,” his friend tried again, leaning in and tightening his hold around Oikawa’s shoulder. “I hate seeing you like this,” he said, surprisingly serious. Oikawa looked away, uncomfortable with Hanamaki’s half-awkward show of emotions.

“I’ve barely processed it,” Oikawa mumbled, looking down at his fiddling hands, hiding them under the duvet. He wanted to tell Hanamaki to just give him _time_ , but he couldn’t imagine ever getting over it. He didn’t feel a bit better than he did before.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I just want what’s best for you,” Hanamaki said and relaxed his grip, leaning back with his usual smile. “Just call us if you want to, you know, hang out or something,” he said.

“Sure, Makki, I will. Thank you,” Oikawa said, forcing up a strained smile.

“You’re gonna _love_ what Issei made for you, by the way,” Hanamaki said as he stood up, walking over to the bag he brought with him again. Of course he was, Oikawa thought to himself. Matsukawa was a genius in the kitchen and he hadn’t eaten a homemade meal in almost a week. “I’ll put it in the fridge before leaving, okay?” Hanamaki said, but his eyes fleeted to the couch table, before he stepped over, grabbing Oikawa’s phone from it. “I’ll put your phone in the charger!” he said before disappearing into the kitchen, not leaving Oikawa a chance to reply that it had already been charged that morning. Now that he wasn’t constantly using it, it didn’t lose battery as fast.

“Thank you,” Oikawa mumbled, more directed at the fact that Hanamaki put the food in the fridge for him (and the fact that he came with it in the first place), wiggling down under his blanket again, hoping that he could stay there forever, or maybe drown in the ocean of self pity he had been floating around in lately.

Soon after, he heard a hushed, one-sided conversation from the kitchen as Hanamaki called his boyfriend.

“Nothing’s changed, he’s not getting any better,” Hanamaki mumbled, probably unaware that the soundproofing was terrible. “Yeah. We have to do something,” Hanamaki continued, then stopping to listen to the answer. Oikawa snorted, shaking his head to himself. They could try all they wanted.

"No, I'm not going to watch that movie with you," Oikawa said into the phone, sighing in impatience. Yaku Morisuke started arguing against him and he briefly considered just hanging up on him, because Yaku Morisuke was one of the most stubborn people Oikawa knew (and, coming from Oikawa, that was big words), and Oikawa had no plans of giving in, even if it was just going to the movies for a calm night with just Yaku. Honestly, Oikawa wasn't sure if Yaku would be good at consoling him either, he'd prefer just a night of acting like nothing was wrong, but with Yaku's brutal honesty, things could go so very wrong.

Not that Oikawa had any plans of accepting. The movie Yaku had mentioned was definitely something Oikawa would be interested in, _but_ he hadn't been the only one to figure that out. Some time ago Iwaizumi had offhandedly mentioned watching it together when it came out, but, obviously, that never happened. Even though Iwaizumi had just mentioned it in a passing comment and that they didn't actually make a deal about it, it still felt a bit like that to Oikawa.

"You should just go with Lev," Oikawa said, smirking slightly as he remembered Kenma offhandedly mentioning the two of them, not surprised that they'd still be talking. That is, they were quite a surprising pair, but it had just sort of made sense, even seeing them bickering made Oikawa feel kind of funny inside - some would probably look at him and Iwaizumi in public and think that they were probably tired of each other instead of fitting together perfectly, their differences making up for each other's flaws.

Except, Iwaizumi and Oikawa weren't together anymore. They hadn't lasted. People were right.

"He'd probably end up tagging along anyway, we could bring Kenma too," Yaku said in the other end, managing to sound a bit embarrassed about not mentioning Lev earlier.

"Do not bring that guy near me in my state of emergency, Yakkun!" Oikawa whined, offended that Yaku had planned on that in the first place or even remotely considered it a good idea. Yaku Morisuke may have been brash and honest, but Haiba Lev? Despite what people thought, Yaku had a filter. He said what thought necessary, not just whatever came to him that moment. Unlike... certain others. And even the unstoppably stubborn Yaku Morisuke couldn't hold Lev in a leash tight enough for him to shut up, and Oikawa was still not in a place where he could live with hurtful comments about him and Iwaizumi, especially not thrown out randomly, unexpectedly, by someone who did not know better, someone who didn't even mean any harm with it. Funny how sincerity rather than ill-meaning sort of made it feel even worse.

Opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water, Oikawa rested his phone on his shoulder, balancing it between his cheek and shoulder while using his hands to open the bottle, grabbing the phone again after with his free hand, taking a sip from the bottle, only half listening to Yaku’s arguments when he heard someone knock on the door.

”Wait a sec,” Oikawa said, accidentally interrupting Yaku in whatever track he had drifted out on while Oikawa hadn’t been replying.

”Are you even listening?” Yaku asked, slightly annoyed.

”Nope, not really,” Oikawa just said, putting down the bottle of water as he walked out of the kitchen to the hallway.

”Can I call you later?” he asked and Yaku snorted on the other end of the line.

”No need, you’ll just forget to do it. I’ll call you, okay?” Yaku asked and Oikawa hummed in reply before ending the call, putting the phone into his pocket as he walked over to the door, wondering if he somehow forgot about someone coming over, but he didn’t remember making any plans and his friends usually announced their arrival before coming.

Oikawa opened the door while trying to remember when Kenma said he’d be home – he shouldn’t be home in several more hours – unprepared for the view that met him on the other side of the door.

”Ushiwaka,” Oikawa wheezed, staring at said man standing in the doorway.

”Oikawa Tooru, it’s been a while,” _Ushijima_ _Wakatoshi_ said in that annoyingly impassive tone of his, tilting his head to the side without saying anymore. Fuck.

“Just a second,” Oikawa said, closing the door in Ushiwaka’s face in desperation, not knowing what else to do, as he turned around to lean up against the door, pulling out his phone to call up a certain someone.

“I swear to god,” Oikawa said, when he heard the usual ‘ _Hanamaki here’_ after the call was picked up in the other end. “If this is some kind of ‘rebound’ plan of yours…” he began, taking a deep breath, too angry to finish the sentence. The guilty silence on the other end of the line said it all. “I can’t believe this,” Oikawa just whispered, ending the call and turning around to open the door again.

“Oikawa,” Ushiwaka just said, staring at Oikawa with slightly squinted eyes, as if he wasn’t used to the door being smacked in his face on a weekly basis. Oikawa couldn’t imagine anyone being near him often without doing so once in a while.

“Ushiwaka-chan,” Oikawa said, not hiding his annoyance. “What are you doing here?” he asked, still not opening the door fully, sending as many ‘you’re not welcome here’-vibes as possible.

“I’m here to pick up my coat; do you not remember the texts?” Ushiwaka asked, tilting his head to the side in honest confusion.

“What?” Oikawa asked in confusion, whipping up his phone once again to check his latest messages. And, just like Ushijima said, there _had_ been an exchange of messages between Oikawa’s phone and Ushiwaka. Problem was, _Oikawa hadn’t been the one answering_ , and Oikawa _did not_ use that kind of kaomoji. He stared at his screen in disbelief, a distant memory of Makki – it’s always him, damnit – taking his phone into the kitchen ‘to charge it’.

“Is there a problem?” Ushiwaka asked, and Oikawa turned to look at him again, raising his chin and scrunching his nose angrily.   
“Of course not,” he said, taking a step back and opening the door, letting Ushiwaka inside. "The coat is..." Oikawa began, but tilted his head to the side, trying to remember where he put it. He didn't want Kenma or Iwaizumi to see it comment on it (or _anyone_ coming by, for that matter, not after Hanamaki--oh, Makki really was a sneaky one, Oikawa should've seen it coming). He hadn't put it in his own room though, he remembered clearly, feeling weird about having it - or anything formerly belonging to Ushiwaka for that case - in his personal space, so the only other option was the closet where they hung the coats and jackets that weren't in season at the moment. Ushiwaka was sensible enough not to take off his shoes, probably aware of the fact that he was not welcome to stay, instead waiting patiently by the door as Oikawa opened the closet, looking for the coat.

"I'd also like to ask you to accompany me for lunch if you're not busy," Ushiwaka said in a tone that made it obvious that he was aware that Oikawa had no plans of the sort. Oikawa hated that, people knowing he wasn't busy, because that made it seem like his time wasn't valuable and by god it was.

"No thank you," Oikawa simply said, pushing away the hangers with random coats and jackets, mostly his own but a few ones owned by Kenma, looking for the one coat he had borrowed from Ushiwaka on that one night.

"I'm aware that you and Iwaizumi are no longer seeing each other, presumably because of the ongoing case," Ushiwaka commented and Oikawa didn't even need to listen to his steps to know that he was walking up behind him, the shiver running down his spine reminder enough. When his eyes finally fell on the coat, Oikawa ripped out the hanger, turning around in haste and forced it into Ushiwaka's surprised arms.

"Here it is! Goodbye!" he said quickly, closing the closet doors and stepping away.

"My apologies, I wasn't trying to drive you into a corner," Ushiwaka said, taking a long step back towards the door, the coat now thrown over his arm, the hanger in his other hand.

"Sure you weren't," Oikawa just said, tone cold, well aware that it was exactly Ushiwaka's intention when he mentioned Iwaizumi and the court case - then again, Ushiwaka would probably assume that _Oikawa_ had been the one dumping Iwaizumi, thinking that he wasn't interested in a person with limited fortune. The fact that those details were unclear calmed Oikawa a bit and, now that his mind were just slightly clearer, a thought started to blossom in his mind.

Ushiwaka knew about the case. And Oikawa could gain intel about it simply by acting like the person Ushiwaka – and, apparently his closest friends – still thought he was. And, honestly, there was also a part of Oikawa who did not mind being spoiled to a free meal at a fancy restaurant once in a while. With everything he had been through, he deserved it.

”I’ll go, but I have to change into something more proper, so please wait here for a second,” Oikawa said, pushing Ushiwaka further back towards the door so he was standing just next to it before whipping around and skipping to his room.

”I haven’t forgotten that ’a second’ means ten minutes to you,” Ushiwaka commented from the hallway but luckily didn’t follow. Oikawa just laughed.

”Many things have changed since then, Ushiwaka-chan!” not hiding the slight annoyance in his voice at Ushiwaka thinking he still knew Oikawa – thinking that he ever did.

And, just to prove Ushiwaka wrong, Oikawa quickly pulled off the sweatshirt he had been lounging around in, switching it out with a slim, thin cashmere sweater before moving to his mirror and quickly fixing his hair, which he luckily hadn’t left in a mess that morning like several other mornings before this. Oikawa hurried back to the hallway and put on his shoes, smiling victoriously at Ushiwaka before grabbing his own jacket, ignoring the coat Ushiwaka had weakly held out for him, as if he actually thought Oikawa would accept it.

”Where are we going?” Oikawa asked, grabbing his keys before leading Ushiwaka out the door.

”One of your old favourites,” Ushiwaka said, a tiny smile creeping up in the corners of his mouth, reminding Oikawa that they did share a past and that Ushiwaka did know _some_ things about him.

”Great, I’ve been craving proper sushi for a while now,” Oikawa just said, walking past Ushiwaka down the stairs to the ride.

 

The interior of the restaurant hadn’t really changed – it was a tiny place, 2nd floor in a surprisingly anonymous-looking office building but with an amazing view over the crossing situated at its foot, their table next to the window but still close to the bar where two sushi chefs were cutting things up dangerously quickly and elegantly, almost as fast as their hasty conversations with each other.

“Sorry about the rain,” Ushiwaka said, sounding disappointed, as if he somehow could have fixed it if he had known in better time. Oikawa snorted, pulling off his jacket – only slightly wet, because they had only been walking from the car right outside to the elevators, which was a matter of seconds – and putting it on the back of his chair.

“So,” Oikawa said as they sat down and were offered a menu each.

“What have you heard about the split between Iwa–… Iwaizumi and I?” he asked, straight away, keeping his face completely neutral, surprised at how easy it was for him when it hurt so much inside.

“I assumed, since you didn’t show up in court with him. Even Sugawara Koushi showed up – did you know he was married to a colleague of Iwaizumi-san? When I asked afterwards, both avoided the question.” Ushiwaka said, his tone disinterested, as if they were simply small talking, while Oikawa mentally wrote down every single piece of information Ushiwaka gave him – and honestly, he had gotten more than he had even hoped for in the first sentence uttered.

“Well, maybe we’re just taking a break,” Oikawa said, before a waiter came and asked for their orders, both giving them before the waiter disappeared again in a rush.

“You wouldn’t be going out for lunch with me, would you then?” Ushiwaka said, raising an eyebrow, daring to not even look smug about his too-correct statement. Oikawa hated him.

“I guess you’re right,” Oikawa said resignedly. “And so?”

“You took a wrong turn,” Ushiwaka then commented, lifting the glass of wine the waiter had just poured up for him, smelling it before taking a sip, nodding to the waiter who disappeared again. “There was a place where you could’ve gained even more, but you chose against it.”

Rolling his eyes, Oikawa just shrugged as the first tastes were served. Everything was done freshly at the restaurant, so they only got a few pieces at a time straight from the bar where the chefs were working hard.

“I should’ve gone back to you, instead of staying with—, with him, and that would’ve made everything okay? Is that what you’re saying?” Oikawa asked, grabbing the chopsticks in front of him, pouring out some soy sauce in the tiny bowl set out, busying himself with the food so he didn’t have to look at Ushiwaka while waiting for the reply.

“I’m saying I can give you what he couldn’t,” Ushiwaka said calmly, his confidence sounding neither cocky nor biased. He was so _sure_ of himself, so stuck in the belief that what he had just said was right, the absolute truth, not even up for debate – that Oikawa only cared about the highest bidder and whoever treated him the most. And what the worst part was that Oikawa had once thought the same. But that was before Iwaizumi, before Iwaizumi had turned around his life, taught him so many things and given him so many things, not only in the form of payment. Before Iwaizumi had _left him_. Oikawa looked up, lips in a straight, narrow line, refusing to show how the words got to him.

“You’re gonna have to specify further,” Oikawa simply said, realising he still hadn’t tasted the sushi, lifting a piece up and popping it into his mouth without even looking what kind it was.

“I’m aware that the split hasn’t been easy on you,” Ushiwaka commented, raising an eyebrow at Oikawa, as if he could physically _see_ it on him. _Yeah, right, and fuck you,_ Oikawa thought in reply, well aware that he wasn’t his usually polished self, but he didn’t look _bad_. And Ushiwaka had no clue what he had been through. “And I’m willing to propose a new arrangement,” Ushiwaka said.

“No thank you,” Oikawa said quickly, not even considering.

“Oikawa,” Ushiwaka said in a low, deep voice, so calmly that Oikawa had to lean back, scrunching his nose as he awaited his next words. “I’m willing to start out easy, wait it out until you are ready. Please reconsider,” he said, before turning his attention to the waiter who had just put down another plate with sushi, gratefully accepting it with a nod.

Oikawa turned to look out the window, staring at the rain falling down outside. Did he really want to give Ushiwaka a second chance? Was he ready to move on? The rain was heavy, the window covered in tiny drops of water slowly falling down further. The raindrops on the window all told him the same answer – there was no fight against the laws of nature, time went by and rain would fall to the ground, the ones that fell on the window still sliding further, all in the same direction: down. Hanamaki had set this up for Oikawa to be better and even though his friend didn’t exactly know all the details about Oikawa’s relationships, he wanted what was best for Oikawa. Ushiwaka was willing to give him space and time to actually become his usual, cheerful self. Iwaizumi had left him without giving him a chance to fix this again. People wanted him to move on.

There was a single drop of water on the window that persevered, refuse to fall further. Oikawa didn’t want to move on. He wasn’t ready. Oikawa’s gaze flickered to Ushiwaka for a second, and he looked patient, as if ready to wait for Oikawa’s reply if he needed to think further. Oikawa took that as acceptance and turned to look out the window again, the only way for his mind to leave the suddenly cramped-feeling space of the restaurant without physically standing up from the table and leaving the place.

Several other raindrops fell on the window, forming into a bigger one, forcing the single one to fall down with them. No match for gravity, no matter how stubborn it was.

Oikawa still wanted to hide away and disappear, but the world was moving along, pulling him with it. It wasn't going to wait for him.

"Okay, then," he replied, looking up at Ushiwaka again, keeping his face expressionless, knowing that if he did show any emotion, he'd probably start crying as hard as it was raining outside and, honestly, he wasn't in the mood for public crying right now.

"You made the right choice," Ushiwaka said calmly, grabbing the glass of wine and taking another sip. This definitely felt more like a business deal than a second chance.

 

While finishing their meal, Ushiwaka explained the specifications he had in mind for their new arrangement. Oikawa had surprisingly few add-ons (despite knowing that accepting whatever offered was a no-go when negotiating mutually beneficial relationships and sugar relationships) and, honestly, the arrangement sounded more than ideal, not exactly the highest paid, but definitely more than usual sugar relationships and more than Oikawa felt like he'd deserve at the moment. Ushiwaka was willing to wait and that was way more sympathy than the usual sugar baby was given. Oikawa felt too hopeless to feel bad about not being more enthusiastic, but he did appreciate the sentiment.

 

They took it slow from the start. Everyone knew Ushijima Wakatoshi was a busy man and now that Oikawa had enough money for it to be stupid for him to just sit around all day feeling alone, he tried going out with friends again, tried acting like it was all fine.

It wasn't fine. But somehow eating amazing food again, doing more to look good again, in general doing the things he used to enjoy... it didn't feel as bad as sitting around at home wallowing in self pity.

Of course, he still had to set off time to do just that too, because now that his socializing didn't stem in an actual need of being with people, but rather him trying to get better, it felt forced and it was _exhausting._ But he started enjoying his alone time at home too. It felt better. Oikawa wasn't happy, by any means, but he did try and he felt slightly less terrible, because if there was one thing Oikawa hated, it was not doing his best at whatever he was doing. He went back to work, did better at his job than he had in a long time, tried putting energy into everything he did. And it was still forced. All of it. Even the occasional dinners and spending time with Ushiwaka was forced, despite the fact that Ushiwaka patiently waited for Oikawa without even trying anything on him. _That_ was a thing Oikawa hadn't experienced a sugar daddy do before. It was supposed to be a mutually beneficial agreement, and while Oikawa always tried his best to force up smiles, come up with interesting topics of conversations, he still felt like it wasn't quite enough. That he wasn't just feeling, but also acting like a shell of his old self.

To be honest, Oikawa did try and test Ushiwaka's patience whenever he could – there was a part in Oikawa that wanted to anger him, not in the way he liked to poke at Iwaizumi to get a rise out of him and those small, fond smiles, but rather because there was a part inside Oikawa that still saw Ushiwaka as his opponent and wanted him to pay, not in the way Ushiwaka was actually _paying_ , like their arrangement included. But Ushiwaka rarely seemed the least pissed off, and in the end Oikawa was still too frustrated with the real problem to be disappointed at that. In fact, sometimes he was relieved that Ushiwaka accepted the rather hideous sides of his personality because he really did try. And he had been given an enormous opportunity. He didn't like to admit it, but Ushiwaka had been extremely generous and Oikawa knew his patience wouldn't last forever, but for now, it was deeply appreciated, whether he was good at showing it or not.

Ushiwaka knew he was broken and he respected that Oikawa had to try and fix himself before he was ready for anything. He acted extremely professional about it, and a part of Oikawa was pissed at that - less reason for self-pity, since he couldn't even say he was being treated badly.

 

After their lunch, Oikawa called up Sugawara, because he hoped that, by some miracle, the other man would pity him enough to keep him updated on the situation. They mostly talked over phone at first, but then started meeting for coffee and such later on and Oikawa realised very quickly that he genuinely enjoyed the companionship of his new friend.

"Do you really think it's good to keep checking in on him?" Suga had asked one day, before leaning in over his cappuccino, lifting up the cup from the saucer, taking a tiny sip.

"I don't understand," Oikawa said casually, tilting his head to the side.

"I mean," Suga began, picking up a pack of sugar and opening it, pouring it into his coffee, obviously not wanting to look at Oikawa as he spoke. "If it's over, you should try and, you know, get over it," he said, sounding sorry, as if he was telling Oikawa some terrible news. Oikawa raised his eyebrows, licking his lips.

"Oh," he said.

"Sorry," Suga said, his words mimicking his expression.

"Don't be," Oikawa quickly replied, not wanting Suga to think he was mad at him. There was truth in his words, of course, but Oikawa couldn't just... stop caring. "I have to know," he said, lifting his own glass of cafe au lait, taking a sip from the foam at the top. Suga nodded.

"Okay, then," he replied calmly, nodding to himself. "I still don't have much information, Daichi doesn't talk a lot about work and since it's an arbitrary court case, it's quite private," he said. Oikawa nodded.

"I know, I just want to... I wanna know how he's doing," he said, touching the edge of his glass with his fingers, staring down at it, trying to push away the mental image of Iwaizumi sitting in his office, frustratedly working on the case without any one to come home to, any way to unwind before it's over. Suga's eyes furrowed and the sympathy in his eyes were weakly concealed.

"Okay then," Suga replied, sighing in resignation. "Okay."

 

“What are you doing?” Ushiwaka said, catching Oikawa pretty much red handed (well, with a stack of papers in his hands with huge red ‘confidential’ stamps on them).

“W-what?” Oikawa said in panic, putting down the papers in a haste. Said documents were about the same case Iwaizumi was currently tackling, the one Ushijima’s company had raised against him, apparently.

“Those documents won’t tell you much about the case, they’re just old evidence from _our_ archives,” Ushiwaka said. “But if you’d like to know, there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence against them at the moment.

“How do you know this?” Oikawa asked, ignoring the fact that Ushiwaka didn’t seem the least deterred about Oikawa still caring about Iwaizumi. Or the fact that Ushiwaka _knew_ what Oikawa was doing.

“It’s still my lawyer who’s the leading prosecutor, which you probably already knew,” Ushiwaka said, looking down at the papers in front of Oikawa. Of course he knew - of course Ushiwaka knew that he knew too, why else would he try and find out information from him? “You should prepare for the inevitable though - if they’re guilty, they will have to pay. And right now, evidence shows just that,” he explained, slowly, as if talking to a child. Oikawa, still sitting in the sofa, stared up at Ushiwaka with big eyes.

“B-but he’s not!” he forced out, hating how dumb he sounded. But from the information he had picked up from several sources (including Ushiwaka himself), the charge raised against Iwaizumi’s department was not just illegal but also extremely immoral. Oikawa knew Iwaizumi would never do that.

“Time - and the juridical system - will show. If they’re innocent, it’s unlikely that they will be prosecuted.” Again, Ushiwaka kept calm, annoyingly objective on the matter, and Oikawa could do nothing but stare - because really, he wasn’t the least jealous that Oikawa obviously still harboured feelings (those stupid, stupid feelings) and he didn’t even wish bad upon Iwaizumi unless he actually deserved it. Once again, Oikawa could feel the guilt creep in on him and he looked down, pursing his lips. The fact that Ushiwaka was so neutral, so emotionally detached, was also the problem. The contrast between him and Iwaizumi's passion was extreme - not that Ushiwaka wasn't just as passionate and hardworking as Iwaizumi with his work, but with human relationships it was different. Maybe that was the reason he was so ideal for 'mutually beneficial relationships' - because he saw them as just what they were, arrangements. Oikawa knew he had close relationships - his red-headed assistant and several other of his closer employees and friends. Oikawa had, despite not being in a romantic relationship with him, felt a bit jealous because of this at first, back then, unused to not being someone's number one. But now it was ideal. So very different from what he had with Iwaizumi, but only managing to remind Oikawa about it even further. Iwaizumi had an opinion and strong emotions about everything, about _Oikawa_. And Oikawa wanted that. He thought, just like Ushiwaka had thought, that he was the ideal sugar baby, like Ushiwaka had been the ideal sugar daddy. But Oikawa wanted something else. He wanted something more. He wanted everything. With Iwaizumi, he felt like he had been offered the chance for that, but now the empty hole in his life was obvious, screaming at him. Ushiwaka had tried, given him exactly what he had asked for, what he thought he wanted - problem was, that wasn't what Oikawa needed. Ushiwaka wasn't the problem, neither was Iwaizumi. Oikawa was.

The information on the case started becoming sparser now that it was running close to an end. Sugawara had told Oikawa that most of the department - Daichi included - were working overtime at the moment, either preparing for failure or a big new scoop that could save them. Ushiwaka didn't have much more information and slowly, Oikawa stopped asking him, his curiosity slowly dying out, unlike the pain he still felt in his chest.

 

One day, Ushiwaka had invited Oikawa with him on a travel overseas, telling Oikawa that this could be a good ending - a good start - and Oikawa understood the implications without him having to explain. Something had to happen. Oikawa had to get over it. He couldn't keep faking his happiness and a vacation was an ideal way to start over. Oikawa accepted with a deep breath, furrowing his brows when he realised that the date they departed was also the date the case would be settled in court, officially making that day both the end and the beginning. Oikawa thought he was ready, but as the day slowly creeped closer, the tingling sensation in his fingertips, the weird feeling in his chest that he was making the wrong choice, only strengthened.

It wasn't until the last day that he gathered the courage to actually call out to Iwaizumi - or, as cowards usually do, send him a last desperate text before leaving.

 

 **To: Iwa-chan <3 **He hadn't even changed the name. He put away the phone, biting his lip. Then took it out again shortly after, restlessly fiddling with it.

 

**To: Iwa-chan <3 [11:34]**

_If you really believed that love was more important than money, you wouldn't give up just like that. I tried and I fought, and if you wanted it as much as you led on, you wouldn't just give up like that. You'd fight for it. This is your last chance to fight._

 

He sent the message along with the airport information and departure time, then turned off his phone, turning to Ushiwaka.

This really was the end or the beginning. Depending on whatever would happen now, whatever Iwaizumi chose to do. Oikawa hoped Iwaizumi believed he was worth fighting for. The clock was ticking and time waits for no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry. the ending was cliche, the middle was bad and the beginning shows just how fucked up my mind was right after i finished the project (bad place lololol)
> 
> i tried to make ushiwaka, again, not the enemy but rather. ya know. idk. he's supposed to be like "ideal sugar daddy material" what oikawa thought he wanted at first. like oikawa thought he was ideal sugar beb at first but found out he wanted smth else (smth called iwaizumi hajime, our lord and savior)  
> fuck im just. i'm really sorry and honestly this has been a pain to churn out, i hope you won't hate me and stay with me for the ending lmao


	19. The F-word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they arrived and the airport, Oikawa immediately realised that there were holes in his plan. It hadn’t really been a plan, more of a last-minute desperate attempt at trying to get what he had known all along was what he wanted. Problem was, a place as tightly secured as a fucking airport was _not_ the ideal place for a reunion.  
>  But with Iwaizumi, things rarely happened like they ideally should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: i found the title for the last chapter!! 'the F-word'!  
> friend: f...fries?  
> me: no ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> btw, sorry i was late with posting, the exam came and kicked my butt lol but now it's over and i got a good grade!! im so happy. 
> 
> LAST CHAPTER. GOOD LUCK FRIENDOS.

When they arrived and the airport, Oikawa immediately realised that there were holes in his plan. It hadn’t really been a plan, more of a last-minute desperate attempt at trying to get what he had known all along was what he wanted, but what he knew he could no longer be the only one of them fighting for. But the last minute attempt at giving Iwaizumi a chance had its flaws.

First of all, he hadn't given Iwaizumi _that_ much time to actually go there. He could drop everything in his arms and speed over there in his fast car and _still_ be late if he didn't see the text instantly or if he got stuck in traffic. It was afternoon, after all, and the city traffic was always bad at this time. But that wasn't even the biggest issue.

The biggest issue was the airport security. Oikawa hadn't considered the fact that they were flying with a private plane and the fact that private flights were in a completely separate area of the airport, probably impossible to enter unless you had a plane to catch or you knew someone. Oikawa didn't know if Iwaizumi knew someone, the one time they had taken a flight it had been commercial. So not only was there a risk of Iwaizumi not even coming in time, but there was a risk of him arriving and not being let in. Oikawa hadn’t realised this before he had already passed the security area, though, and by then it was already too late. Iwaizumi had contacts, Oikawa knew this, but even so there was still a risk that he couldn’t get in touch with them or it simply took too long time, or– so many things could go wrong, and the idea of something as trivial as airport security or traffic changing his life because of one defining moment terrified Oikawa. He couldn’t return from this vacation to Iwaizumi saying he had been waiting in the airport for hours but had been just a bit too late. This was it. And the odds weren’t with them.

 

His foot was tapping restlessly when Ushiwaka returned with the food for them, a habit Oikawa had picked up from Iwaizumi and something that wasn't exactly a discreet way of letting out your nerves. Ushiwaka, of course, noticed instantly.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he offered Oikawa the food and Oikawa accepted it before he shook his head, turning to look at the huge clock hanging on the wall again. "You cannot will the time to go faster, no matter how strong-willed you are," Ushiwaka said matter-of-factly, thinking that Oikawa was acting like this out of impatience.

"I _know_ that," Oikawa said through his teeth, staring even harder at the clock.

 

When the time for them to board the plane finally came, Oikawa didn’t know if he was panicking or relieved, his heart beating too loud for him to know. He tried keeping the stares he threw around to every corner of the airport to a minimum, looking for a certain familiar face, as they walked towards the gate for private planes. He was unsure if he succeeded in doing it discreetly, but in any case, Ushiwaka was kind enough to ignore it. They moved towards the private, smaller gates and Oikawa realised that this was it – he was boarding a plane, leaving to another part of the world, leaving Iwaizumi and his old life behind. Well, by not showing up, Iwaizumi had done just the same, of course. Oikawa wasn’t entirely to be blamed, but that didn’t make it hurt less for him. The opposite, in fact.

"Wait!" there was a yell breaking through the open area of the airport, where loud sounds like that was a rarity, unless they originated from the speaker that announced last calls for planes every few minutes. The sound of quick, loud steps could be heard, someone running through the long halls of the open spaces that let the sound echo all the way to the door Ushiwaka and Oikawa had just walked out of. The car leading them to the smaller private jet was in sight, just waiting for them to walk over and get inside. But Oikawa stopped instantly, freezing in his steps. He'd recognise _that_ voice anywhere. "Please let me through!" it yelled again.

Oikawa’s whole body moved at its own accord towards the source, and the motion of turning around felt like it was going on in slow-motion, and Oikawa could see Ushiwaka turning in the same direction along with him, confusion clear in his eyes. Oikawa’s focus was elsewhere, though, and his eyes immediately fell on Iwaizumi, who was being held back by two security guards, not exactly physically fighting them, and therefore not being forced onto the floor or away, simply held back in his place, but he was turned towards Oikawa in desperation, staring right towards him. He wouldn't be able to get past that point with the security, of course. An airport reunion would be more troublesome than Oikawa had imagined, than how smoothly they usually went in the movies. Oikawa instantly turned to Ushiwaka with pleading eyes, but the other man didn't meet his gaze, instead staring intently at Iwaizumi.

"Do you know him or should we take him away?" A security guard who was closer asked, talking directly to Ushiwaka.

"Sure, let him pass please," Ushiwaka said, waving his hand at the security guards that instantly let Iwaizumi go. Oikawa breathed out in relief, relieved that this _wasn’t_ some cliché romance movie with some evil person standing next to him, trying to hold Oikawa away from what was best for him.

This time, Iwaizumi simply walked in quick, long strides, probably having learned from earlier that running wasn't the smartest thing to do in an airport. Oikawa turned to Ushiwaka. "Can I talk to him?" he asked, slightly ashamed of how high and pleading his voice sounded, how _desperate_ he sounded, but too, well, desperate to do anything about it. Ushiwaka raised an eyebrow before nodding at him once.

"Don't do anything you'll regret," Ushiwaka said, and once again, the real message was left unsaid. _This is your final chance._ Of course Oikawa knew that, better than Ushiwaka thought he did. He was just happy he had been given this final chance. When Iwaizumi came over, Ushiwaka turned to him with a polite nod. "Congratulations, Iwaizumi," he said, before Iwaizumi thanked him and he turned to walk towards the car waiting. Oikawa looked after him in confusion, unsure of what exactly he was congratulating Iwaizumi for, but pushed the thought away for now, his insides screaming at him _HE'S HERE, HE'S HERE, HE'S HERE,_ making it impossible for him to think about anything but Iwaizumi being there. For him.

"You were right, Oikawa," Iwaizumi said, stepping closer. He lifted his hand, reaching out for Oikawa, but let it fall again, still doubtful.

“I know I was, always am,” Oikawa answered jokingly, smiling nervously, hoping that it looked welcome, his nerves making the way he just automatically slipped into joking like they usually talked to each other feel weird. “About what this time, though?”

"I want to fight more," Iwaizumi said, more determined this time, meeting Oikawa's eyes. "I can't offer you what Ushijima can, but I _can_ offer you me," he said, smiling softly, _lovingly,_ before adding "and my love, I guess.” With that, he chuckled softly, his cheeks already tinted rose from the embarrassment, obviously unused to saying anything like that, just as much as Oikawa was unused to hearing stuff like that. In fact, he didn't even think it happened outside movies. A cupped hand held over his mouth, he accidentally let out a sob, not realising he was crying before a tear fell down on the hand that still covered his mouth, making him notice.

"Iwa-chan," he whispered, his voice shaking slightly, before spreading his arms as Iwaizumi stepped closer, meeting him halfway for a kiss that was as soft and sincere as it was short-lived, both of them opting for a hug instead, wanting to be as close as possible. Oikawa sniffed again, and even though the tears had stopped falling pretty much as soon as they had started, he dried off his eye with the back of his hand, still wet from the wave of emotion that had fallen over him so violently. Iwaizumi was finally there in front of him, not just that, but _with_ him. Oikawa had spent weeks trying to get over what had happened, thinking Iwaizumi thought the risks were too big, but here he was, giving himself over, willing to take that chance with him.

After a few seconds, they both stepped back awkwardly, realising they were in the airport, and more importantly, Ushiwaka was waiting in the background. The emotional reunion scene would have to wait for later.

Oikawa turned around to Ushiwaka, who moved closer, his expression and way of bearing himself still as neutral and strong as ever.

"I guess I should wish you two good luck," he said. Iwaizumi's face instantly shifted into something different, more business-like than the fond smile he had just given Oikawa, as he nodded at Ushiwaka, probably unsure of what else to say, luckily too nice to start gloating in his presence. When Oikawa forced his eyes back to Ushiwaka from Iwaizumi, the other man was looking right at him. "I hope you won't regret this decision, Oikawa," Ushiwaka said before turning around and walking to his car, his redheaded assistant stepping out from the front seat to join him in the passenger seats behind, probably after realising that Oikawa wouldn’t be – this time, Oikawa didn’t have any ill feelings at that fact, finding comfort in the fact that Ushiwaka wouldn’t be alone on the trip, even though he knew he was never meant to be there for him as emotional support, when Ushiwaka already had closer people for that (something Oikawa used to mind, because he preferred being center of attention, even though he rarely wanted to admit it). The car drove away towards the plane and Oikawa slowly turned towards Iwaizumi again, who stepped closer again, reaching over and drying a stray tear away from Oikawa's face.

"You're an emotional crier," Iwaizumi chuckled, and Oikawa stared at him for a second, then realising he was allowed to touch him again, jumping in for another embrace.

"I missed you so much," Oikawa whispered, breathing in the smell of him again, finally, afraid that he was going to start crying again, but let out a chuckle when Iwaizumi's lips grazing his ear tickled him. "I don't care if you have money or not, I just want you," Oikawa said, suddenly feeling extra sentimental, awkwardly grimacing at his own words when they pulled back, realising how sappy he sounded, sticking out a tongue for it to feel less serious.

"Oh, yeah, uh, money won't be a problem anymore," Iwaizumi said, shrugging softly as he looked back at Oikawa, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Huh?" Oikawa asked, confused at his words, trying to think of any reason for that to be the case. _The case_. Ushiwaka had congratulated Iwaizumi earlier, and he wasn't the type of person who'd congratulate him for 'winning' Oikawa, because he'd never treated him like anything but an equal, definitely not a prize. But the _case_ was to be decided today. And Ushiwaka would've known how it ended up. Iwaizumi didn't say anything, instead waiting for Oikawa to put two and two together, obviously having realised that Oikawa was thinking hard to himself already. When Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi, he was smiling at him fondly, not hiding the adoration, and Oikawa couldn’t help but feel embarrassed under the attention, even though he was enjoying it.

“I realised some things while we were separated,” Iwaizumi said, and Oikawa tilted his head in question, smiling at him.

“What?” he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow when Iwaizumi slowly crouched down, before settling on one knee, grabbing for something in his pocket. "No way," Oikawa whispered, his voice already shaking again as he felt the tears return to his eyes when he realised what Iwaizumi was doing. This wasn't happening.

"Is that a bad 'no way'? Because I can wait or not ask you at all," Iwaizumi said, his hand freezing in his pocket, and Oikawa realised he had read his reaction as something negative.

" _No!"_ Oikawa yelled, too quickly, and Iwaizumi chuckled, before his hands disappeared from his pocket, as he pulled out ... not a tiny box with a ring in it, but a keychain. _The_ keychain. The keychain with the tiny Eiffel tower-figure that Oikawa had given him in Paris. He still had it with him. Iwaizumi tried dissembling the thing, separating the actual key ring from the figure and Iwaizumi slowly lifted up the ring, staring up at Oikawa with enough sincerity in his eyes to make Oikawa sniff once again, unable to hold back his tears.

"I really hope this can do for now," Iwaizumi whispered, reaching out for Oikawa's hand, lifting the key ring as if for him to put it on. He covered his mouth with the other hand, shaking his head as he tried to hold back the sobs, wondering if he was going into shock.

"Giving back a gift is bad manners, you know," Oikawa said jokingly, drying away his tears and letting his hand fall down again when he realised his voice was surprisingly under control.

"You still haven't actually said yes," Iwaizumi replied, still holding the key ring out, obviously waiting for Oikawa to accept.

" _You_ still haven't actually asked me," Oikawa joked back, biting his lip as he took in the view of him sitting down, the ring held up in front of him in invitation.

"Will you marry me?"

"I always imagined being the one proposing if I were ever to be engaged," Oikawa said, chuckling. "But yes!" he added, unable to hold back the smile as Iwaizumi put on the key ring. It was, of course, loose on his finger and not at all meant to be worn as a ring, but perfect at least for now. The sentiment behind made Oikawa’s knees feel like they could give in any time.

"In which world?" Iwaizumi asked as he stood up again, holding up Oikawa's hand with the makeshift ring on it. "You prefer others giving you things, not the other way around. And others admitting their feelings before you have to put out your own cards," Iwaizumi added, before leaning in and planting a kiss on Oikawa's mouth. Oikawa chuckled, against Iwaizumi's lips, turning his face away. Iwaizumi knew him well - his flaws as well as his strengths. Yet, he still loved Oikawa enough to want to marry him at some point.

"I do like when you get on your knees for me," Oikawa joked, the habit of easing the tension with a joke when it got too emotional being too natural for him to stop. Iwaizumi smirked in reply, raising his eyebrows teasingly; following Oikawa’s drift as quickly and naturally as if they had known each other their whole life or they were meant to be. Oikawa believed they were.

He realised he loved Iwaizumi just like Iwaizumi loved him - he knew Iwaizumi was amazing, perfect and definitely better than Oikawa thought he really deserved (not that he would ever admit that) - but he had also seen and experienced a fair share of Iwaizumi's bad sides. They fought a bit, which was only natural with people as stubborn as the two of them, and Iwaizumi wasn't everything Oikawa expected him to be; the ideal sugar daddy who had an endless amount of money that he'd freely hand over to him, but Oikawa had learned to accept that and love him - not despite those things, but for those things. And maybe that's what love is. He loved Iwaizumi because he was the result of many flaws and strengths and amazing things mixed together into a wonderful human being called Iwaizumi Hajime. And Oikawa didn't want him to be any other way. In fact, Oikawa wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. And it seemed like Iwaizumi felt the same way.

***

Oikawa heard the door close before he noticed his presence, but he looked up just in time to see Iwaizumi walk into the living room right towards him.

“Hey Tooru,” Iwaizumi said, smiling broadly, his unfair set of pearly white teeth contrasting his beautifully tan skin. His use of Oikawa’s given name didn’t escape Oikawa’s attention as he raised an eyebrow, waiting for Iwaizumi to cut to the point, curious and slightly wary of what his _fiancé_ wanted from him. Not that Iwaizumi had ever been a sycophant. “Don’t look at me like that,” Iwaizumi joked and Oikawa suddenly remembered that he was just as good at reading Oikawa as Oikawa was at reading him, if not better (Oikawa still prided himself on being best at reading others in general, but sometimes Iwaizumi noticed Oikawa’s changes of attitude before he knew it himself – Oikawa may be good at reading people, but Iwaizumi seemed to be the best at reading _him_ ).

“Then tell me what you want to say, _Hajime_ ,” Oikawa said, putting emphasis on his own use of Iwaizumi’s given name, smirking as he showed how his wariness was in fact a reaction to the still not exactly regular use of his given name.

“Okay, okay,” Iwaizumi just said, squatting down next to the sofa, leaning in towards Oikawa so their faces were closer. “Since we have money and time now, we could… I don’t know, go out and look for a proper ring?” He asked nonchalantly, looking down at Oikawa’s ring-less finger. He had the key ring in his pocket, but it was too big and still not really made to be used as an actual ring for him, so he couldn’t wear it as one regularly. Oikawa looked down, grabbing for his pocket in reflex with his other hand, as if checking if the ring was still there. Then he shook his head.

“I don’t need one,” he said, not really feeling the need to explain further, but still keeping a tone that made it obvious that there was no need for further discussion. Then, another thought came to his mind and a smirk to his lips. Iwaizumi instantly leaned back, an eyebrow raised in suspicion at Oikawa’s change of attitude as he waited for Oikawa to tell him whatever was on his mind. “We _should_ look for actual wedding rings, though. How about Cartier?” he began, sitting up in straight in the sofa, already getting excited at the prospect of ring shopping with his _fiancé_.

Iwaizumi let out a sigh. “I guess some things never change,” he said, smiling fondly at Oikawa as he shook his head. Oikawa smiled back, grabbing for his hand and feeling a wave of fondness wash over him. Then he leaned in, as if to kiss Iwaizumi, but stopped halfway, a wry smile tugging in one corner of his mouth.

“I wasn’t kidding, though. You wouldn’t mind Cartier, right?”

Iwaizumi simply rolled his eyes in reply.

***

"I can't believe you thought you could turn Iwaizumi Hajime of all people into a _sugar daddy_ ," Kuroo said, laughing heartily at Oikawa’s expense, yet Oikawa wasn’t the one getting embarrassed. He could already see Iwaizumi's blush grow at the tips of his ears.

"I'm more impressed that Iwaizumi didn't realise it until Oikawa told him," Akaashi commented from the edge of the table, a small smile on his lips.

"Hey! I knew he'd be a pain in the ass since the moment we met," Iwaizumi said, then realising the implications of his words, face palming with one hand in resignation.

"Mean, Iwa-chan, I have given your ass nothing but pleasure," Oikawa said, grabbing his arm to pull his hand down. Iwaizumi just stared back at him without saying anything.

"I'm gonna stop you right now. It's TMI-area, and Kuroo gets competitive with that, I don't want him to get all gross," Kenma said.

"I love you too," Kuroo said, looking at Kenma as if he had actually just given him a compliment. Oikawa scrunched his nose, turning to Iwaizumi.

"Why aren't you nice like that to me?" he asked.

"Calling you gross? I'll try to remember," Iwaizumi said, smiling at him. Oikawa rolled his eyes, turning to look at Kuroo and Kenma again, who were now whispering privately to each other, very much enjoying each other’s company, despite Kenma’s less direct terms of endearment. It was a night out with a smaller group of friends from work and couples – Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Kuroo, Kenma, Bokuto, and Akaashi (the two of them were officially a couple now, no longer even keeping it a secret from their colleagues). Under normal circumstances, they would have invited Sawamura Daichi along and, by extension, Sugawara, but the two were currently visiting family in the other end of the country. The company they had currently was more than enough for him right now, though, and Oikawa was gazing happily at the table full of friends in front of him when he felt a tug at his sleeve. Iwaizumi grabbed his hand underneath the table and intertwined their fingers, and Oikawa let him, his eyes falling back on Kenma, who was looking right back at him, a small smile tugging at his lips, words left unspoken, but the message clear between them; they had done well. They were in love and lucky, and Oikawa couldn’t be happier.

 

***

 

It was finally the day. The ceremony itself would only have a very small group of friends attending, but they had invited their extended social circle for the party afterwards. Oikawa had been a bundle of nerves for weeks, despite the fact that they had tried to keep the thing small and casual, because the perfectionist within him showed up at times like this, wanting to make sure everything was like they imagined, but after Iwaizumi had poured some water and forced Oikawa into a bubble bath the evening before to relax, it seemed like all of the stress bundled up inside had finally loosened up (along with the knots in his shoulders thanks to a shoulder massage from his fiancé). The morning after, they had gotten breakfast together before parting to get ready at the hotel the ceremony was being held, and Oikawa had met up with Kenma, Yaku and Suga to get ready, aware that the next morning he’d wake up with Iwaizumi, it’d be as husbands.

Neither Yaku nor Kenma actually knew _anything_ about hair care, skin care or dressing properly, but Oikawa counted himself lucky for the fact that he had befriended Suga and the fact that he could at least help him look the best he was able to on this day.

Iwaizumi was with Daichi and Kuroo (Oikawa suspected that he hadn’t invited Bokuto because he felt awkward about only inviting him without Akaashi, because they were a couple and because his relationship with Akaashi was more professional than casual – they were still invited to the actual wedding party though) in another part of the hotel preparing as well. Oikawa had sent him a text saying he couldn’t wait to meet him at the altar a bit earlier when he had gotten restless and thought about meeting up with him, but was reminded by Suga that he should keep up the anticipation by waiting instead, since there was less than an hour till they were going anyway. Oikawa had settled with sending the text message, unsure if Iwaizumi even had his phone on him.

“Why aren’t Takahiro and Issei here?” Kenma suddenly asked, looking up at Oikawa.

“They’re preparing the party,” Oikawa said, grimacing at the thought. “I’m more nervous for their speech than the whole wedding,” he commented, shaking his head at the memory of Makki hinting at just how embarrassing their shared speech was going to be. Suga laughed.

“I’m going to film that,” he said, and Oikawa opened his mouth, staring at him in fake-offense. Yaku high fived Suga, laughing out loud at Oikawa.

“It’s my wedding day, you’re supposed to be nice to me!” Oikawa whined, turning around to the mirror and giving himself another once-over. Someone knocked on the door and the room became quiet in reply as they all looked towards it.

“Oikawa?” he instantly recognised Iwaizumi’s voice from the other side of the door and, before he could reply, the door opened and his fiancé stepped inside the door, still only wearing black slacks, a white shirt and black butterfly. He looked amazing and Oikawa felt the need to take him in his arms and run away with him, leaving the whole world behind them.

Then he remembered what they were currently both getting ready for and gasped theatrically loud and tried covering his body as if naked, turning to the other way than where Iwaizumi stood. He hadn’t even put on his blazer jacket yet or done his hair the way he wanted to, so he wasn’t actually finished getting dressed, but he still wanted how he looked to be a surprise.

“Iwa-chan, you can’t see me before the wedding, that means bad luck!” he said, voice shrill from nerves.

“That’s superstition. And are you saying you’re the _bride_?” Iwaizumi joked and Oikawa let his hands fall down to his sides again, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Ha ha,” he said, not very amused, even though the fact that Iwaizumi was joking so freely made him relax a bit.

“I’m sorry for disturbing while you’re getting ready,” Iwaizumi said, sending an apologetic smile to Suga, who just crossed his arms with a smile, waiting. “But there’s just something I had to tell you, and it can’t wait until after we’re married,” Iwaizumi said, stepping closer to Oikawa and putting a hand on each of his arms, turning the two away from Suga, Yaku and Kenma, as if to get some privacy.

“Is Iwa-chan with child?!” Oikawa said out loud, gasping in disbelief. Iwaizumi stared at him, too used to Oikawa’s jokes to laugh.

“No,” he said, completely void of emotion. Oikawa smirked, proud of his own joke and Iwazumi just raised an eyebrow, but after some time he couldn’t hold back his smile either.

“Couldn’t it wait until _after,_ then?” Oikawa asked, suddenly scared that Iwaizumi was going to tell him he lost all his money to the yakuza and now owed everything he had or that he once killed a person and was now on the run or that he regretted—. Then, Iwaizumi pulled out the papers for their prenuptial agreement. Oikawa’s eyes widened. “ _No_ ,” he whispered, already having a pretty good idea of what Iwaizumi was going to do. Iwaizumi smirked in reply, taking a step back before Oikawa could react and stop him from what he was about to do.

“I trust you,” he said, ripping the document apart in one swift motion. Oikawa stared at him, unsure of what to say, how to react to the declaration, when someone cleared their throat from the door before his ability to speak had properly returned.

“Iwaizumi, if you don’t hurry we’re not going to be on time,” Sawamura Daichi said from the door, waving at his own husband with a shy smile, and Suga winked back at him from where he stood next to Kenma. Oikawa huffed at Suga, but turned his attention back to Iwaizumi.

“Shoo, we’ll talk about this later,” he said, before playfully pushing his soon-to-be husband towards the door, waving after him before closing it again, slowly turning back towards Kenma and Suga in the room.

Leaning in, careful not to touch Oikawa’s newly-ironed shirt, Suga chuckled and whispered in his ear: ”Does he know that that was just the copy, or?”

Shaking his head, Oikawa smirked at his friend when he pulled back again, turning to look at the door from where Iwaizumi just walked out. ”It’s the thought that counts,” he said, unable to keep the fondness out of his smile, happy about the stunt that Iwaizumi just pulled even though his fiancé – soon to be _husband_ – didn’t know it wouldn’t actually mean anything.

When Oikawa turned back to look at Suga, he smiled back at him, wide and happy. ”I’m so proud of you.”

 

“This whole party was… is amazing,” Oikawa said, breaking the comfortable silence between the two on the balcony. It was completely dark, but the lights of the city lit up the area and made sure most stars were impossible to see, yet Oikawa enjoyed the night view anyway. It was already late and he was emotionally exhausted from the party and socializing and being so damn _happy_ all evening, overwhelmed with emotion from the moment he and Iwaizumi– _Hajime_ had said yes. Iwaizumi was somewhere inside, talking to the guests when Matsukawa had come to Oikawa's rescue, asking if he wanted some air. Matsukawa was smiling at him.

“Anything for you two,” he said. Oikawa turned over, looking towards the small garden between the skyscrapers surrounding them with a smile, happy that his friends not just accepted his relationship but supported it to this extent. Matsukawa was leaning up against the balustrade, arms crossed casually.

“And the food, too,” Oikawa said, smiling broadly and turning halfway to his friend, wanting to express the flood of gratefulness flowing over him.

“The speech was horrible, though,” Oikawa joked, and Matsukawa raised an eyebrow, snorting.

“You literally cried during it,” he said in an unimpressed voice and Oikawa couldn’t help but chuckle, shrugging nonchalantly. He had, though. The speech had been terrible – terribly embarrassing, but also terribly intimate and funny and so them. Oikawa had already pulled Suga aside, well aware that he had filmed it, asking for a copy of it for himself later.

Matsukawa looked up when the door to the balcony opened and Oikawa followed his gaze, his eyes landing on their boyfriends. Well, boyfriend and husband.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, jumping towards his husband, hugging him with slightly too much force and ending up pushing them both several steps back, almost falling into the door.

“Oik– Tooru,” Iwaizumi corrected himself as he put his hands on Oikawa’s shoulders, trying to gain balance again. Hanamaki had smoothly avoided a collusion and went straight to his boyfriend.

"'m tired," Hanamaki groaned, loud enough for Oikawa and Iwaizumi to hear.

“Well, I assume the lovebirds are going home soon too, right?” Matsukawa said, turning to them from the half embrace Hanamaki was holding him in, leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder with a pout, obviously trying to get some pity points. Iwaizumi nodded, turning to look at Oikawa.

“You ready?” he asked, and Oikawa nodded, grinning widely.

 

Their ride home started out silent, unlike how the whole evening had been a constant of people talking all around them, fighting for the attention of the newlyweds. Oikawa welcomed the silence. His cheeks were aching from smiling all night, the evening wind was cold and calming and their fingers were interlaced, no words needed, as they sat down in the back of the car, where Iwaizumi rested his head on Oikawa's shoulder and Oikawa let himself rest his head on Iwaizumi's.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Iwaizumi spoke, softly, breaking the silence without much force. Oikawa smiled, nodding even though Iwaizumi couldn't exactly see it, hoping that he could feel the movement since they were leaning up against each other still.

"Very," Oikawa simply answered, smiling. "I'm excited to go many places with you in the future."

Iwaizumi lifted their laced fingers to his mouth, kissing Oikawa's knuckles softly.

"Well, we'll have lots of time to do that," Iwaizumi said, moving his head upwards towards Oikawa. Oikawa leaned back a little, turning his own face towards Iwaizumi's with a smile, aware that his husband was staring at his lips. "I know I've said something different earlier, but I want to give you the world," Iwaizumi whispered in a hushed voice, so low that Oikawa could barely hear it.

"I'm happy as long as I have you," Oikawa replied in a whisper, leaning in to kiss him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the f word is fiancé. (and forever)
> 
> THE END.  
> talk to me abt iwaoi or writing on twitter: cheatos_
> 
> This fic has taught me something very important: that ~~diamonds are a girls best friend~~ i shouldn't be scared of just fucking,, posting fics and doing it. i've learned so much and i was so scared of writing in this fandom and in english (as u probably know already, it's not my native language) and starting out with a fic that was supposed to be a joke let me take it less seriously (also led me to making a lot of terrible jokes thorough the story - i'm truly sorry).  
>  I probably would've done a lot of stuff different now, but that's too late and it was still a really fun experience to write. I love all of the HQ chars so so so much and I wish I could go more into some of the other ones.  
> I do have lots of other fics in planning, but,,,, most of them are iwaoi, haha. Bc i live for those boys. If you're interested in reading my stuff in the future, feel free to subscribe or idk.  
> I'd like to thank my friend for laughing with me about the fic once in a while but never making me feel bad or ashamed of it and for kicking my butt when I was stuck or not writing and in general being a supportive little shit. thank you. and for another friend whom I sadly don't really talk much with anymore but still care a lot about, thank you for forcing me to actually start writing this. It's opened up a whole new world for me and I have a huuuuge amount of other fics in progress that I can hopefully also share with you at some point.  
> Last, but not least, I'd like to ask all of you guys for reading, commenting, giving kudos and support and love and being patient. I wanted to give up on writing so many times but you guys made me keep going and cheered me up even when I was a whiny little shit. Thank you so much <3  
> also, thanks to: coffee, wine and those pretty shitty sleepless nights. *blows kiss*


End file.
